


Taken My Heart: ML Fluff Month 2017

by Ashtheshortstack



Series: Miraculous Fluff Month [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: But I'm Love Square TRASH okay, F/M, If I decide to add more pairings then I'll do it, ML Fluff Month 2017, Miraculous Fluff Month, Miraculous Fluff Month 2017, mlfluffmonth, mostly adrinette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-09 16:40:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 50,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11673027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashtheshortstack/pseuds/Ashtheshortstack
Summary: I'm going to give people a toothache. Rating this T for possible make-outs.





	1. Blush

Adrien loved making his girlfriend blush. With Marinette being Ladybug, it meant that she was always particular about everything. She never failed to notice subtle details in every aspect of her life. This also meant she always noticed when Adrien did basic, normal couple clichés like put a heart next to her name in his phone or gaze at her with a smile when he thought she wasn’t looking.  Both times he was met with a slight ting of pink on her cheeks. It wasn’t hard for him to realize she noticed with a dead giveaway like that. Whenever he did small tasks for her, her face would heat up slightly and she’d pretend like she wasn’t completely flattered by the actions.

Oh, but, he had her all figured out now. And he was going to flatter her until the ends of time if it meant he could see that cute face she made when she was embarrassed.

 Adrien peaked around the corner as Marinette opened her locker while chatting to Alya. When the door opened, an envelope wrapped in ribbons fell to the floor, and flowers poked out from on top of her books. She gaped as she stared at the display.

Alya snorted. “Monsieur Agreste has no trouble spoiling you, does he?”

After hearing Alya’s words, Marinette snapped out of whatever trance she was in and bent down to pick up the card. She slipped the ribbon off the card and flipped it open.  With her eyes widening and face flushing, Marinette whipped the card closed before Alya could read it. Her friend leaned over her shoulder and cooed with wonder about the contents of the note.

Marinette glanced around and turned her head, catching his eye. He smirked and gave a cheeky wave as she gaped at him. The rosy color on her cheeks was definitely enough to satisfy him.  He slipped away before she could approach him. He had no problem taking the beating later as Chat Noir (which he did.) Making her feel special was worth every bit of it.

o~o~o~o

There was another instance in class when Miss Bustier was discussing admiration, inspiration, and role-models for a paper that they would have to write on someone who inspired them.

“Chloe, who do you admire most?” she asked.

Chloe flipped her blonde ponytail over her shoulder with as much sass as she could muster. “My daddy, of course.”

With a nod, Miss Bustier continued. “Why does he inspire you?”

“Because he’s the mayor, and he can do whatever he wants. He knows how to make people vote for him and follow his orders. I want to be able to do that someday too,” she flaunted with a grin.

Miss Bustier gave a nervous chuckle. “I see. Alya, how about you?”

“Hmm,” Alya rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “I guess, I would have to say Ladybug is who I admire most.”

“And, besides the obvious reasons, why is that?”

Alya beamed. “Well, it’s not just because she’s a superhero. Ladybug is just awesome in general. She’s super nice and friendly. She pays attention to the little guys, even my blog. I think whoever it is under that mask is just a genuine person, and does her best for everyone.  That’s more admirable than anything else if you ask me.”

Miss Bustier nodded in agreement. “Very well said, Alya. Adrien, what about you?”

“Um…” he brushed a hand through the back of his hair. “Well, honestly, Marinette is the person I admire most.”

Marinette’s head whipped towards him, her eyes widening and her mouth agape. Her cheeks were slightly starting to pink. Adrien decided to focus on that adorable face rather than Chloe’s gasp of disgust and growling.

Miss Bustier just gave a smile. “And, why is that, Adrien?”

“Because,” he smiled at Marinette, “she’s amazing. She’s our class president and tries to do her best to incorporate everyone’s ideas. She tries to make sure everyone is happy and no one feels left out. She’s talented and brave. I don’t know who _wouldn’t_ admire her.”

Chloe was gaping, Rose’s hands were pressed against her chest with a sigh, Alya and Nino shared smirks, and Miss Bustier’s smile grew with a nod. “What about you, Juleka?”

“Can anyone really follow that?” she murmured with a small shrug.

Miss Bustier let out a chuckle. “I agree, that’s a tough one to beat, but, go ahead and tell us.”

As Juleka declared her admiration for her grandmother, Adrien’s focus was solely on Marinette. She just stared at him with her face red as a beat with her bottom lip sucked in between her teeth. He smirked at her and mouthed “breathe.” Sighing, she drooped her head. Adrien scooted closer to her and rubbed a hand on her back. He almost felt guilty for embarrassing her, but the cute blush on her face made up for it.

After that incident, she didn’t even wait for them to meet up as Chat Noir and Ladybug that night. She punched him square on the arm as soon as they left the classroom. The bruise on his arm the next day was totally worth it.

o~o~o~o

One thing that Adrien loved just as much as making Marinette blush was scaring the living day lights out of her. The way she would jump and freeze (or sometimes almost punch him) always gave him a good laugh. Tonight, he decided to mix the two together.

He perched himself on the roof of the bakery as Marinette stood on her terrace, leaning against the railing with her chin resting on her palm. Smirking, he slowly slipped down and crept up behind her. She jolted with a yelp when his arms wrapped around her from behind. Craning her neck to see him, she frowned.

“Well, hello to you to,” he smarmed with a grin and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

With a pout, her face flushed slightly. “Why do you do this to me?”

“You’re fun to tease.”

“Thanks.”

She just stared at him. Was there something on his face? A small smile twitched to his lips, and her blush blossomed a bit more as she turned away.

“What is it, my lady? See something you _like~?_ ”

“Must you?”

“Always.”

“Mhmm, always _cheeky_ , you mean,” she retorted with a snort.

He rested his chin on her shoulder, squeezing her waist, and slowly swaying them. “I do what I can to make my lady feel special.”

With a roll of her eyes, she groaned. “You’re so embarrassing.”

“Would you rather me not spoil you? That sounds boring,” he teased.

“Must you always do it in a public setting? I’m sure everyone finds it obnoxious… and will you transform? The last thing we need is someone spotting me cuddled up with Chat Noir.”

He chuckled against her ear. “But, my lady, that would be so scandalous. The charming teen hero Chat Noir finds a beautiful princess above Paris’ finest bakery.”

Marinette glared at him. “Except this princess is taken by Adrien Agreste.”

“Your loss,” he chimed as his stuck his tongue out. “Claws in.” The familiar green slow enveloped him and zapped away his transformation. “There. Happy?”

“Quite,” she said with a cocky smile.

As Plagg came to float beside them, Marinette turned to the kwami. “Tikki’s inside eating cookies, if you want to see her.”

“Better than being stuck out here with you two being gross,” he grumbled flew off towards the door.

“Does Plagg hate me?”

“No, Plagg is just incapable of being anything other than a little shit.”

Letting out a mock gasp, Marinette cocked her head towards her boyfriend. “Adrien Agreste, such language.”

He spun her around, dropping his arms around her lower waist. “I can be a bad boy sometimes.”

“Bad kitties need to be punished.”

What did that mean? Adrien furrowed his brows. “Oh, really?”

His girlfriend smirked, giving him an uneasy feeling. Booping him on the nose with a hum, she replied, “Yup.”

o~o~o~o

Within the next few days, Adrien had completely forgotten all about Marinette’s— _threat_. He wasn’t exactly sure what she meant when she said he was going to be punished. It probably just meant all the times she hit him after he embarrassed her, or so he thought.

It was the day that they were required to turn in their papers of who they admired. Adrien patiently waited for Marinette to arrive on the steps, but as class got closer to starting, he started fearing she may have overslept again. They had dealt with a pretty nasty akuma the day previous, so she was probably exhausted from being Ladybug. Glancing back down at his phone one last time, he decided he couldn’t chance turning his paper in late.

As he took his seat, he glanced at the empty space beside him with a pout. Where was she? It wasn’t like her to miss on days when important projects were due. She always made sure to be on time such days. What could be keeping her?

Someone bursting through the classroom door shook him from his thoughts. “I’m so sorry, Miss Bustier. I ran as fast as I could.” His heart was relieved to hear Marinette’s voice, but when he caught a glimpse of her his mouth went dry.

There she stood with her hair down and a black beanie with cat ears on it. His eyes wandered over her as he took in the entire outfit. She was in a black t-shirt with a black cat outlined in white with green eyes, a green pleated skirt with black on the bottom, black tights, and then shoes that matched his own except they were a vibrant green. _What_ was she _doing_!? He could barely breathe seeing her dressed like that, let alone read his paper to the class. This was bad. So, so bad.

This was it. This was her revenge. She had been plotting this since the day he said he admired her. As she turned to take her seat next to him, he saw the Ladybug charm he had given her on her birthday around her neck. Oh, that was it. His eyes bugged while he plainly gawked at her, a flush spreading across his cheeks. When she smirked, he knew it was over. She could see his blush plain as day.

“Dang, gurl, what’s the occasion?” Alya piped in after seeing her friend’s outfit.

“Oh, this?” Marinette gestured to the outfit. “I wrote about Chat Noir. Adrien stole my idea of writing about him, so I just went with Paris’ other great super hero. He saved my life once, so I thought it was a good idea.”

She was going to be the death of him. He was fine with that. He could die this very moment and have lived a good life.

“Well, you look absolutely adorable, Marinette.”

 _Don’t forget drop dead sexy,_ his brain added. He flushed again and scolded himself for thinking such thoughts at this moment in time.

She blinked those blue eyes up at him through long lashes, obviously doing her best to look as innocent as possible. Marinette scooted close to him in their seat. Keeping her voice low, she spoke, “What is it, kitty? See something you _like~?_ ”

Adrien loved making his girlfriend blush, but it was even better when she made him blush instead.


	2. Goodnight Kisses

Marinette and Adrien were the embodiment of “good kids.” Always staying out of trouble, following the rules, and doing their best to be upstanding students. They were also the superheroes of Paris, but people didn’t need to quite know they were _that_ good. People were aware of their flaws, of course. Marinette was totally clumsy, and Adrien was sometimes socially awkward because he never attended school before. Although, the two “good kids” weren’t so good that they didn’t pass up the opportunity to sneak out and see one another with the help of their secret super powers.

Typically, they would both sneak out and meet at the Eiffel Tower, or some other place where they could be up high and not be disturbed by passing civilians. But, tonight, Adrien decided to shake things up and be a little riskier than normal.

Marinette heard the tapping at her window and was startled to find her boyfriend waving cheekily as his superhero persona on the other side of the glass. She opened the door to let him in, still surprised at his actions. “Adrien, what are you _doing_?”

He slipped into her room before grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her in to press a kiss on her nose. “Sneaking out to visit my princess, what else would I be doing?”

“Are you _crazy?_ My parents are right downstairs,” she whispered harshly.

Adrien’s transformation zapped away, leaving Plagg hovering beside him. “Then, I guess we’ll just have to be quiet, huh?” he said, keeping his voice low.

“You’re a naughty kitty.”

Shrugging, he gave a smirk. “What can I say? All these years of being locked away in my room has made me become a delinquent.”

Marinette sat down in her computer chair and snorted at him. “Yeah, right. You wish you were a delinquent, Mr. Goody-Goody.”

He strolled up behind her chair and draped her arms over her shoulders. Pressing a kiss to the back of her head, he smirked. “That’d make you Mrs. Goody-Goody, wouldn’t it?”

“Shut up,” she murmured.

“Wanna play Ultimate Mecha Strike III on mute until we can’t keep our eyes open anymore?”

Marinette hummed in thought, considering his offer. “Okay, but as soon as you start to get tired, we stop. We can’t risk you falling asleep here. Too many questions would have to be answered then.”

He gave a nod. “I understand.”

Time ticked away faster than either of them would have liked. After two hours of hushed laughter and gloating, as well as Adrien accidently making them lose because he was too busy messing with Marinette, they began slow down. A clear sign of the pair getting too tired was the other teams actually starting to win. Marinette’s eyelids grew heavy and her head drooped onto Adrien’s shoulder. He smiled gently. “Are you sleepy, Marinette?”

“Noo…” she murmured as she nuzzled her head against him.

He snorted. “Yeah, sure. You sound sleepy.”

“Maybe, a little…”

He hummed and coaxed her to get up from her chair. She slumped against him as he pulled her onto his back so he could climb the steps to her bed carefully. He helped her into her bed and began to tuck her under the covers. She gazed up at him with wide, blue eyes. “Adrien?”

“Yes?”

“Can I have a kiss before you leave?”

Adrien let out a chuckle and smiled. “Of course.”

Brushing stray tresses from her cheeks, Adrien bent over and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. As soon as her lips touched his, however, Marinette seemed much more awake than before as she suddenly shifted her fingers into his hair, and then she was pulling him down on top of her. The kiss was supposed to be a small, goodnight kiss, but rather, when her lips danced against his Adrien knew he was putty in her hands. Attempting to pull away, he tried to keep his wits, but Marinette chased his lips and responded with new vigor. With his heart pounding, Adrien was slowly losing his mind.

Not good. Not _good._

He finally made a successful retreat, almost tumbling down the ladder to Marinette’s bed. His face was flushed as he gaped at her. “Marinette, I’m supposed to be _leaving._ It’s supposed to be a goodnight _kiss_ not good night _make-out session._ ”

She stared at him in a daze before giggling. “You’re right, sorry.” Crawling towards him slightly, she brushed her fingers through his hair. “Can I have one more?”

He blinked stupidly.

“…Maybe, just one.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is so short. Tomorrow's will be longer.


	3. Sweets

Chat Noir wasn’t used to all of the attention that Marinette constantly gave him. She always wanted to take care of him and make him happy. Being so spoiled in such a way was not something he was used to. It made his heart flutter in ways he couldn’t describe, but, yet her she was, once again, holding up a bag of goodies during a late night outing as their superhero alter egos.       

“My lady, I’m going to get a cavity if you keep bringing me sweets,” he said, eying his girlfriend with a quirked brow under his mask.

She waved him off. “Nonsense, I know for a fact that you are an avid teeth brusher because you have to maintain those purely whites for your modeling career.”

“A modeling career that will be ruined when you make me pudgy.”

With a snort, Ladybug pulled a truffle out the bag and held it between her fingers. “Can you really resist this?”

“Can I? Yes. Do I want to? No,” Chat replied as he held out a waiting palm.

Smirking, she set the treat in his hand. “That’s what I thought.”

The pair sat down on the ledge of the tall building, feet daggling over the edge over the Paris streets. As Ladybug sat, she pulled the bag over and began munching on a truffle of her own. She placed herself close to Chat, but not too close. Even if they were a couple, he still noticed she was slightly reserved. They hadn’t even kissed yet after being together for three months. She was just so nervous. But while she spoiled him, in return, he did everything he could to make her laugh and smile.

He unwrapped it and plopped the whole thing into his mouth. Cheeks puffing out as he chewed, he glanced over at Ladybug, who held the back of her hand over her mouth trying to stifle her giggles. Chat cocked his head at her.

“You’re so goofy,” was all she said.

He tried not to laugh, but failed and sputtered chocolate drool out on his lips. Ladybug scrunched up her nose at the sight. He quickly wiped the slobber onto the arm of his suit, much to his own disgust. Rolling her eyes, Ladybug pulled a handkerchief out of the sack of goodies. She scooted close to him and rubbed he chocolate off his arm and dabbed the small bit left on his lips and chin.

After gulping down what chocolate mush was left in his mouth, he shrugged and grinned awkwardly. “Thanks.”

“What would you do without me?”

“I would die. I would be unable to handle myself doing anything.”

She rolled her eyes. “Chat, I doubt that you couldn’t exist without me. You would be fine.”

Chat smiled slightly. “Ha, yeah, sure. You’re amazing, Mar. You do everything for me. Like now, you even bring me sweets. You don’t have to do that for me.”

Reaching over to him, Ladybug ran a gloved thumb across his cheek and around the outline of his mask. She cupped two fingers under his chin. “You deserve everything I do for you.”

His eyes widened. “My lady…”

“Don’t say you couldn’t exist without me, kitty. I do things for you because I want to, not because you’re incapable. You are so strong. Don’t you know that?”

His lips twitched and he rubbed his arm slightly. “Jeez, Marinette, how’d this get so serious, I was just making a quip.”

She punched his arm lightly. “Yeah, but I know that little sad look you get in your eyes, and I can’t help but boost you up.” She gazed out the city lights with a sigh. “Oh! I forgot! I made you some other treats too!”

“What? You _made_ me something?”

“Yes! I made something for Plagg too.”

“What?”

She pulled a plastic bag out that contained chocolate chip cookies. “I made these for you because I know they’re your favorite. I also made salt and camembert cookies for Plagg. My dad looked at me so weird when I told him I wanted to make those for you. But then he my dad asked if that’s why you smelled like cheese a lot,” she said with a giggle.

“Is it that noticeable?”

“Only if anyone gets too close,” she said with a snort.

“Great.”

Ladybug laughed at his sarcastic remark. Her laughter was like chiming bells every time he heard it. He left his heart pounding a little harder as he watched her. She held up one of the cookies to him. “Want one?”

“Of course. I’m addicted to anything you make me,” he said with a grin as he took the cookie. Taking a large bite, he savored the rich flavor of the chocolate chips. He would never figure out how Marinette’s cookies tasted better than any other ones he had ever eaten. Most likely because she made hers with the sole purpose of giving them to him. They were made with love, and he could certainly sense that.

Ladybug hesitantly put her head on his shoulder as the pair sat in silence, both nibbling on the cookies. He smiled slightly. Cuddling was still a new thing for them. Cuddling in general was a new thing for him. She was so cute and made his heart pound every time she was in close proximity. He glanced down at her and noticed the slight chocolate gathered at the corner of her mouth.

With a gloved thumb, he wiped the chocolate off the corner of her mouth. She glanced up at him as he licked the chocolate off his claw. “See if I had done that, I would have thrown up.”

He snorted. “The chocolate from my mouth was mixed with spit, I would have thrown up too.”

“You’re right. That’s disgusting.”

“We’re disgusting.”

“Also correct.”

She nudged him teasingly. “What is it Chat? You don’t want to swap spit with me?”

He hummed. “I never said that.” Ladybug gaped at him. He immediately realized what he said and his face flushed brightly. “I-I mean, unless that’s not something you want. I’m just here for what you want. I’m not going to make you do anything. At all. Ever. It’s about you.”

Pressing a finger to his lips, Ladybug smiled. “Chat, it’s fine. Calm down.” Her eyes flicked down to his lips.

Did he see her do that? He definitely just saw her do that.

“Would you want to?”

He glanced away. “Want to…?”

“Kiss me?”

Chat nodded as he glanced down at her chocolate coated lips. Ladybug cupped his cheek and leaned in. He pressed his lips to hers. He could taste the cookie on her lips as well as his own. What a first kiss this was. The kiss was chaste, light, and innocent. It was just as he imagined. Kissing her was everything he expected and more.

He pulled away and his lip brushed hers as he spoke. “You taste sweet.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure what happened to the spacing when I edited this. It happened on tumblr too. Weird.


	4. Please, stay?

Marinette quickly stormed through the double doors of the large dining hall. Her thick heels clunked on the tile floor as she fled from the loud music that still blasted from the ballroom. Finally, she reached the stone railing with concrete steps on either side. Glancing down at her ruined dress, she sighed and picked off the gooey shrimp that was stuck to the pink with white polka-dotted fabric. She had worked so hard on this dress, but, of course, Lila felt the need to throw the entire shrimp with lobster sauce in Marinette’s direction.

Alya had immediately jumped into action as Marinette rocketed from her seat and left the ballroom in a hurry. She couldn’t help the slight guilt because this party was for the end of the school year, and Adrien had gushed to her about how excited he was to spend time with all of his classmates outside of school. Marinette leaded over the ledge, tears bubbling in her eyes. She couldn’t tell if she was crying more from all of her ruined work or from the guilt of running off on Adrien after he had gone through so much trouble to ask her out to their first formal event. She had been uneasy knowing that the party was being put on by Chloe, but with Lila’s distinct hatred for her, it wasn’t a surprise to her that Lila would pull such an act.

“I need to leave,” she mumbled as she wiped the wetness from her eyes.

She flinched when two arms wrapped around her middle in a comforting hug. “Please, don’t.”

Tilting her head, she turned back to see Adrien as he nuzzled his nose into her hair. “Hey,” she sighed with her shoulders deflating.

“You have shrimp in your hair,” he quipped as he plucked the shrimp to the floor.

She simply gave a defeated hum in response.

“Hey, you okay?”

Marinette sniffled. “Not—Not _really_.”

“I’m so sorry, my lady. I didn’t think Lila would allow her jealousy to stoop so low,” he stated as he moved to put his chin on her shoulder.

She held onto the stone in front of her and leaned back on him. “I’m honestly not surprised, Adrien, she absolutely hates me. Both as Marinette and Ladybug. Chloe doesn’t even hate me that much. At least Chloe likes Ladybug.”

Glancing over her shoulder, he saw the sauce that was splattered all over the front of her dress. “I should have been there with you, Mar. I can’t believe I let Chloe distract me.”

“It might have been planned.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, Alya immediately started going off on her as I ran off to find you,” he said as he nuzzled under her earrings.

She chuckled lightly. “Yeah, that sounds like Alya alright.”

“You don’t deserve this. I got so mad, but I couldn’t let all the Chat Noir anger come out without people growing suspicious.”

“I understand.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t defend you. I should have stood up for you and not let Alya do all the dirty work.”

Marinette spun in his arms. She kept herself from pressing against him in order to prevent the goop from her dress from smearing on him. Booping his nose, she smiled at him. “You don’t have to be a knight in shining leather all the time. You can be a prince running after his damsel in distress on occasion too.”

Pressing his forehead to hers, he grinned back at her. “I’ll chase you wherever, whenever, forever.”

“I’m glad to hear it, kitty, but my night is kind of ruined so, I guess I’ll just head home. Why don’t you go back and enjoy the rest of the party?”

His brows furrowed at her. “What? Don’t leave.”

“Adrien, my dress is ruined and—and I’m really embarrassed. I can’t go back in there after being humiliated and running off like that.”

“But Mar--”

“Adrien, I can’t. I don’t want to face everyone after that.”

“Please, stay.”

“Adrien…”

He puffed out his bottom lip. “Please?”

She glanced up at him through her lashes. “Don’t give me that face.”

“Pawlease don’t leave this kitten alone?”

“But my dress…”

Adrien took his jacket off before wrapping it around her shoulders. After she put her arms in the sleeves, he buttoned it up in the front. He leaned forward and pecked her on the nose. “There. You’re going to walk back in there confidently arm in arm with me. You’re going to show Lila that she doesn’t control you, and she isn’t going to ruin this night for you.”

Marinette smiled in response. He always knew just how to cheer her up. How did her silly kitty win her over all the time? She walked two fingers up his pink tie. “But, what if we stayed out here just a few more minutes?”

He smirked. “Oh? What did you have in mind?”

She wrinkled nose as her goofy grin grew. “I think you know~” she sang as she grabbed the collar of his white button up. Marinette pulled him down so that his lips met hers in a chaste kiss. Her lips danced lightly with his as her hands slid up to cup his cheeks. He smiled against her lips and chuckled giddily as he swooped back in to deepen the kiss. Wounding his arms around her waist, he pulled her tightly against her and swayed them slightly together.

A wolf whistle broke them apart.

The pair spun around to see Alya standing there with her hands sassily placed on her hips. “Well, here I am thinking that I’m coming to help Adrien comfort you and instead I come to find you two macking on each other. Is this the way you guys handle every situation? Just make out?”

Glancing at each other they responded in unison. “Yes.”

Alya flipped her hair. “Un-be-lievable. You two are ridiculous. I have never met another pair of human beings as mushy as you two—well, except Chat Noir and Ladybug. They might have you two beat.”

Marinette and Adrien laughed nervously in response.

She sighed. “Anyway, you two love birds coming back to the party? Lila left.”

Marinette cocked a brow. “She did?”

“I may or may not have said some very unkind things to her in front of everyone.”

Eying her best friend, Marinette spoke in a warning tone, “Alya…”

“What? I wasn’t going to let her get away with that.”

Adrien pursed his lips before slowly holding out his fist for Alya to bump. “Good job.”

Marinette couldn’t help but giggle at the exchange of Alya and Adrien ragging on Lila for a moment. Alya smiled and waved as she started back towards the doors. “Well, I’ll leave you two alone. Don’t get too carried away out here, you kids.”

Marinette flushed. “Alya!”

“What? I’m just saying,” she chimed with a wink as she closed the door behind her.

Adrien turned back to her and pressed a kiss to his girlfriend’s forehead. “I think Alya will be too suspicious if we stay out here much longer. I think it’d be best to not give her any headway. Shall we go back?” he asked as he held an arm out for her.

She smiled. “We shall,” she replied as she hooked her elbow with his so that the pair could reenter the party with renewed confidence.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't want to do the typical "please stay the night here" because "secret sleepover" is a later prompt, so I just didn't want to write the same thing twice, ya know? So, I went a little angsty, but not so overboard that it makes you have chest pains.


	5. Firsts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight mention of sex. There's also nudity, but the nudity is for giggles.

 

The first time he kissed her they were Ladybug and Chat Noir, sitting on the Eiffel Tower, _their spot_ , he insisted on calling it. The kiss was like fireworks. Adrien honestly didn’t believe that kissing someone was actually as amazing as people made it out to be, and yet, there he was, getting completely lost in the feeling of her lips against his.

She pulled back and his eyes fluttered open. She gazed at him, her cheeks flushed, causing her nose freckles to become more noticeable, and her bluebell eyes seemed even brighter under her mask. He assumed his face wasn’t much different considering how warm he felt. Adrien’s heart was palpitating so hard he could feel it in his throat.

Quickly, she whipped her head down and buried her face into his shoulder. He smiled and nuzzled his nose into her hair. “Embarrassed, Bug?”

“No,” was her muffled response.

Ladybug shifted slightly and suddenly he was all too aware of the fact that her legs were draped over his own. When had that happened? When had she ended up in her lap? Did he do that? Well, since he had her here, might as well. Chat wrapped his arms around her lower back and gave a small peck to her head.

“Stop being cute, dammit,” Ladybug mumbled.

That earned a laugh. “I can’t help it, my lady, if I was ugly I wouldn’t be a model.”

Ladybug shot her head back up to meet his eyes. “I take it back. Being conceded is not cute.”

“Would you rather me hate myself? I can do that too.”

She flicked his forehead. “Stop it, you.”

He tilted his head with a smirk. “Jeez, Marinette, you’re so confusing. What’s this poor kitty supposed to do?”

She hummed thoughtfully before pressing her forehead to his. “You could—kiss me again? Or is that too confusing for the poor kitty?”

“Nope!” he squeaked. “This poor kitty understands that purr-fectly.”

Ladybug grinned and all but pounce on him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pressed her lips to his. In that moment, Adrien thought he could die happily.

o~o~o~o

The first time Adrien told her he loved her he had gotten so nervous that he almost threw up. How unromantic.

When the words left his lips, she simply gaped at him. Marinette’s eyes were wide as she stared. He glanced around her room nervously, wondering how he was going to get out of the situation. He couldn’t take it back. God, no, he couldn’t do that at all. It wasn’t like he wanted to take it back, but he had absolutely no idea what he was doing.

“Y-You love me?”

“Yes.”

Tears were welding in her eyes, and he immediately regretted everything. He screwed up. He screwed up _so_ bad.

“I love you too, Adrien,” she replied in an emotional sigh.

Wait. What?

His lips twitched into a small smile as he tilted his head. “You do?”

“Of course!” she cried as she wrapped her arms around him and tackled him onto the chaise.

Relief completely rushed through him. Adrien let go of the breath he had been holding, and allowed her to run her fingers through his hair. He never wanted to feel like that again. That was absolutely _terrifying._

Wrapping his arms around her, he sighed. “I’m so glad. I was scared you didn’t feel that way about me yet. I didn’t want to mess this up.”

Marinette squeezed him tighter. “No, you silly kitty, I was just surprised.”

He buried his face into her hair. “I love you, Marinette. I love you so much.”

She lifted her head to meet his eyes. Her bluebells were softer than they had ever been. His heart squeezed as he returned her gaze. Scooting herself up, she pressed her lips to his. In that moment, her love, her lips, just everything that was _Marinette_ was all he could think about. He tangled his fingers into her hair as she kissed him more soundly. This feeling of bliss and happiness was something he could definitely get used to.

o~o~o~o

The first time he saw her naked was completely on accident. That was not how it was supposed to happen. It was supposed to be a romantic gesture of him undressing her during their first time being intimate together. _Nope!_ He completely _fucked_ that one up! Granted, he shouldn’t have come into her room without knocking, but Sabine had assured him that it would be fine. Well, it _wasn’t_.

When he had popped open her trap door, he called in like he usually did. “Hey, Marinette! What’s my princess up t--” his tongue immediately got caught in his mouth when he saw her.

Her back was to him at least, so he hadn’t gotten full frontal nudity. However, he wasn’t going to be able to stop thinking about her ass for days after this entire ordeal. Marinette’s face flushed instantly when she saw him. Her mouth fell agape, and she shrieked. “Get out!”

Nodding dumbly, he basically threw himself down the stairs. He wanted to die. Right that moment. Please, any deity in existence could take his life right then, right there. Maybe, he could just actually fall down the stairs, get a major concussion, and forget everything that just happened.

Adrien sat at the end of the stairs with his face buried in his hands. While attempting to get all images of Marinette out of his head, he groaned in aggravation when even try proved to be unsuccessful.

“Adrien?”

Swooping his head to face the voice at the top of the stairs, he saw Marinette standing there in a pastel pink nightgown. Well, _that_ was certainly _not_ helping. She gave a sigh. “C’mon,” she motioned with her hand for him to follow her.

His face was completely red by the time he actually stepped foot in her room. Adrien simply stood there red and still as a statue as his girlfriend paced before him. Gulping, he watched her with wide emerald eyes. Was he supposed to say something? He honestly had no idea what to do in this situation. Falling over dead didn’t seem like it was in the cards now.

Marinette puffed out her cheeks that were flamed with embarrassment. She popped her lips with an irritated moan. “Well, that just happened.”

Adrien simply gave a weak hum in agreement with a quick nod.

As her eyes glanced over him, her tight posture loosened and her brows furrowed in concern. Smiling slightly, she took pity on him, thankfully. “You okay?”

He shook his head. “Not really,” he squeaked.

She gave a small giggle. “Did I break you?”

Sucking in a breath, he squeezed his eyes together tightly in embarrassment. “I guess, that’s the words you could use.”

Beckoning him with a finger, Marinette encouraged him to come sit next to her on the chaise. Adrien stiffly walked over to her in robotic motions. She patted the spot, and he nervously sat down. His girlfriend placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, but he couldn’t help but flinch. Was this it? Was this how he was going to die? Would she off him right here, right now? Dammit, he wish he could have seen more than just her butt if that was the case.

“Relax, minou, I’m not mad. Embarrassed, mortified, and kind of want to die? Yes, but not mad.”

Finally, all of Adrien’s stiffened joints melted as he rested his face back into his palms. “Oh, my God. I’m so sorry, Marinette. Your mom said it was fine to come up, she didn’t know you were changing. I feel like I’m going to puke. Don’t hate me, please.”

She snorted. “I don’t hate you, Adrien. I could never. I just thought the first time you saw me naked would be a lot more romantic, and you would already be naked.”

He _choked._

o~o~o~o

The first time he kissed her in front of anyone other than their parents and his servants was a bigger deal than he thought it would be. His father had slightly given him _the look_ when his kissed Marinette goodbye right on the mouth in front of him, but for some reason that hadn’t intimidated him as much as kissing her in front of his classmates and friends had.

Maybe, because Alya could skin him alive? Yeah, that was probably the reason.

He and Marinette had kept their relationship under wraps for the most part. Alya and Nino knew, of course, but the pair had been very shy about any public displays of affection in front of their best friends.

But kissing her in public for the first time because of peer pressure from Lila wasn’t exactly what he had intended. Granted, the situation wasn’t caused by him or Marinette at all. Alya had gotten fed up with Lila’s flirting and accidently let the cat slip out of the bag during class, much to Marinette’s (and Chloe’s too, apparently) dismay.

“You’re not really dating Marinette, are you, Adrien?” Lila sneered as class ended. They stood in center the schoolyard where a crowd of other students were spread about. Chloe and Sabrina stood within ear shot against one of the sets of stairs, while Alya and Nino sat on a nearby bench. Alya being ready to jump into action at any time.

Clicking his tongue, Adrien glanced down at Marinette for permission and reassurance. She chewed on her bottom lip nervously, before giving him a curt nod. Slowly, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and squeezed. “I am. We’ve been together for a few months now.”

Lila was taken aback. “What!?”

He nodded in response. “Yeah, it was my father’s wishes to keep it secret,” he shrugged slightly. “Had to keep up the ‘teen heart throb model’ image. I’m sure he’s not going to be too thrilled that the class knows now, but I’m sure everything will be fine as long as no one makes a big deal out of it.” Adrien eyed her intently while cocking a brow. “Right, Lila?”

Crossing her arms smugly, Lila smirked. “Prove it.”

Adrien blinked at her. “Excuse me?”

“Prove it. Kiss her.”

Okay. Now, he was getting peeved. She had no right to put the pair of them on the spot like that. “Lila, that’s really not necessa--”

She snorted. “See, I knew it wasn’t true. You’re just lying.”

Alya stood and stormed towards the exchange, her finger wagging as she spoke, “You’re one to talk, Lila! Don’t start projecting on these two! If they don’t want to kiss in front of everyone then they don’t have to!”

While Alya’s intent had clearly meant to defuse the situation and stand up for her friends, instead her voice drew the attention of most of the students in the yard, who were now staring in order to see what all of the ruckus was about.

Lila rolled her eyes. “Please, Alya, no one asked you,” she turned her attention back to Adrien and Marinette. “ _Well_?”

Marinette remained silent, but when Adrien glanced down at her, he saw that stubborn look in her eyes. She was getting pissed, and he knew he was going to be dragged into whatever her scheme was.

His girlfriend sighed dramatically. “Well, Lila, I hate to disappoint you, but Adrien and I are, in fact, dating.” She clicked her tongue. “If we weren’t then I couldn’t do this,” Marinette slipped her fingers between his. “Or this,” she moved his hand up to hers and gave him a kiss on the back of his palm. “This,” tugging on his arm slightly, she pulled him down as pecked him on the cheek, then on the nose. “And, _this,_ ” she wound her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his, earning a gasp from the crowd of students that had become interested in the exchange. Her lips moved against his, she was definitely not holding anything back.

He pulled away before he got too kiss drunk. Adrien knew when he brain was on the verge of turning to mush, and school was certainly not the place for such actions.

Marinette turned to Lila, who was gaping in disgust, with a smile. “There. Happy?”

Lila scoffed before running off in a huff. Chloe was in the corner throwing her own little fit while Sabrina did her best to calm her. With all the stares and cooes, it was obvious that she had certainly made a scene.

Alya smirked at her. “Damn, girl. You got her for sure.”

Adrien nodded. “I wasn’t even ready for that one!”

His girlfriend simply smirked. “It’s fine. I took care of it.”

o~o~o~o

The first time he spent the night with her wasn’t exactly what he expected. Adrien hadn’t actually spent the night anywhere before and was pleasantly surprised when his father agreed to him staying at Marinette’s while his father and Nathalie went out of town. The Gorilla stayed at the mansion in case of emergency, but he couldn’t believe his father was okay with him staying with his girlfriend.

Tom and Sabine must have truly had a way with words to make this magic happen.

While the two had mostly played Ultimate Mecha Strike III for a majority of the night, they did eventually get bored of it. Marinette snuck some cookies up for Tikki, but they couldn’t help but indulge a little bit themselves.

They lay cuddled on the floor, turned away from each other with their head’s on each other’s shoulders. Marinette doodled in her sketch book, while Adrien played puzzle games on his phone. They had been sitting in a comfortable silence for a while, until he just couldn’t take it anymore.

“My lady?”

Marinette didn’t move from her sketching. “Hm? What is it, kitty?”

“Am I a lame sleep over guest? I feel like we’re supposed to be doing exciting things or something?”

She snorted. “You’re not lame. I’m just trying to resist making out with you until our lips are numb.”

_What!?_

Adrien jerked himself to face her, her head falling off his shoulder. Propping himself up on his elbow, he stared down at her. “Did you just say what I thought you said?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

 He sputtered at her. “Bullshit, Mar! I know I heard you right!” he turned himself so that his head was hovering opposite over hers. “Don’t play me. Don’t deny me the kisses that I deserve, you fowl woman.”

Marinette gaped in mock offense. “How dare you? If I’m so fowl, then maybe you won’t get any kisses at all.”

“Purr-lease, my lady? I’ll make it worth your while,” he said with a waggle of his eyebrows.

She pushed him back by his nose. “You’re a naughty kitty.”

Adrien smirked with a twitch of his brow. “I’ll be naughty for you any day.”

“You’re terrible.”

“Only if you want me to be.”

He began peppering kisses all over her face, much to Marinette’s _pretend_ dismay. “Adriennn,” she whined. “Stop it.”

“Is that _really_ what you want?”

“Shut up, kitty,” she murmured as she pulled his face down to her own.

o~o~o~o

The first time he made love to her it was awkward and messy, in more way than one. Neither of them really knew what they were doing, but they tried.

It was dark as they lay in his room, no one was around. He felt safe with her near him. Listening to her light breathing as she slept helped calm him. Marinette had fallen asleep right after their little escapade, leaving Adrien alone in his thoughts. Her hair was undone and splayed out on the pillow. Her dark hair contrasted against the white fabric, and it seemed to give her hair even more of a halo.

Adrien simply smiled as he adored her sleeping form. He took his free hand (the one she wasn’t asleep on) and cupped her cheek. Brushing his thumb across her skin, he ran his digit across her freckled cheeks. They were always so light and hard to notice, but whenever he was close to her like this, he could see patterns on her skin like his own private constellations. She was beautiful. He would never really understand how he got so lucky to have her.

Adrien ran his hand down to her shoulder and fiddled with her loose bra strap for a moment. A hellish garment, he’d come to notice as of late. It only got in the way at all times. Also Marinette complained about how uncomfortable it was to have “the girls” pushed up so high. But even if it was hellish, hers were always so pretty. They were such lacey things. He couldn’t help but admire how it looked on her.

Grazing his hand down to her side, she squirmed a little. He glanced up at her face to see her nose crinkle slightly, which earned a quiet chuckle out of him. So cute. He hand continued its journey downward over her hip, down her thigh, until he reached the hook of her knee. Pulling her closer to him, Adrien interlocked her leg with his own. He wanted nothing more than to just be _close_ to her.

She was his everything.

o~o~o~o

The first piece of cake they sliced at their wedding ending up mushed on each other’s faces. Marinette laughed as he had to huff chunks of icing out of his nose after the entire ordeal. Her father almost seemed offended that they had wasted a piece of the beautiful cake he made for them, but when the two of them kept making hilarious faces for the camera with cake smeared on their cheeks, his laughter that rang out must have been a sign of forgiveness.

Nino grinned at Adrien before pointing at him. “Dare you to lick it off her face!”

He simply scowled at his friend. “Nino, we aren’t sixteen anymore.”

“You’re just embarrassed.”

Adrien glanced at his father who was giving him _the look_ that he knew all too well. “I don’t think that’s appropriate for this occasion Ni- _no!”_ Adrien squeaked at the feeling of a tongue running a lap up his cheek. He flushed and whipped his head towards his new wife. “Marinette!” he peeped.

“What?” she replied with a smirk, “Live a little, Agreste.”

Glancing nervously over at his father, Adrien was surprised to see Gabriel Agreste of all people cracking up at his wife’s antics. Oh, so it was fine if Marinette did it, huh? Well, he would see about that. Adrien leaned down and kissed the icing right off his wife’s nose.

“Oh, you had to be polite about it, didn’t you?” Marinette teased.

Adrien laughed and smushed his cake covered hands against her cheeks. “I’m just not done with you yet,” he retorted as he pulled her in for a sweetened kiss.

o~o~o~o

The first time he held his new-born child in his arms he couldn’t hold back the tears that spilled. An exhausted Marinette stared up at him from the hospital bed with a smile. “She’s looks like you, you know?”

He sniffled as he pressed a kiss to the child’s forehead. “She’s beautiful. You did amazing.”

Marinette snorted. “I didn’t make her on my own, you know?”

Adrien chuckled at that as he cradled their baby. “Maybe not, but you did all of the work. You are so wonderful. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

She gazed up at him with tired eyes. “Don’t forget to give yourself credit too, Mr. Agreste. You’re going to be an amazing father. I wouldn’t want anyone else to raise my child with.”

He leaned over and pecked her on the forehead. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Adrien gazed down at the child as she wrapped her tiny hand around his finger. Oh, that was it. He was instantly in love again. He stroked her tiny blonde patches of hair. “Marinette, I think I have a new princess.”

“Oh, really? What’s that make me?”

He looked up at his wife with a smile. “My queen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This. Wouldn't. End.


	6. Blanket Fort

Marinette sat cozy, wrapped up in sheets of her comforter with a sketch book in her lap and Tikki on her shoulder. Her kwami was nuzzled up against her neck with eyes following Marinette’s hands doodle across the page. She was secretly designing some Ladybug and Chat Noir inspired outfits to surprise her friends with. She knew Alya would just die when she saw the Ladybug top she was going to make for her.

Focusing her work, she almost didn’t hear the rapping at the trap door that led to her terrace. Marinette was knocked out of her trance, knowing immediately who the only culprit could be. Opening the door, she peaked out to see Chat Noir standing lazily against the railing. His chest heaved a little, so it was obvious he had quickly flailed to get into this cool, calm position after knocking.

Marinette only looked at him flatly. “Adrien, what are you doing here?”

Chat let out a small scoff. “I could ask you the same, my lady.”

She blinked at him. “Um. I live here?”

Eyes wandering nervously, he flinched with a hiss at his blunder. “Right.”

Deciding to save her boyfriend from his misery, Marinette chuckled and crossed her arms. “Alright, alley cat, what is with the suave act? Why are you showing up on my terrace at late hours of the night?”

Chat ran a hand threw his hair. “Well, I have a date.”

“Oh, really?” she inquired with a smirk.

Her leather-clad boyfriend leaned and elbow onto the railing while resting his chin on his palm. Crossing one foot around the other, he was obviously going for his best “smooth” pose. “Yup,” he stated with a pop of the ‘p’. “I have a date with Ladybug, know where I can find her?”

She hummed and tapped her chin, sarcastically giving the question some thought. “Nope,” she chimed, also popping the ‘p’ to mock him. “I’m afraid that I haven’t seen Ladybug out tonight,” she gave a click of her tongue. “Sorry to disappoint.”

Throwing his hands up, Chat gave a sigh. “Oh, dear, what a shame. I had such a special surprise planned for her.”

Marinette’s ears perked at that. “What kind of surprise?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” her boyfriend replied with a snicker.

She climbed up onto the terrace to slowly approach him. “Yes, I would actually. Care to give me a hint?”

He turned up his nose with a cross of his arms. “Sorry, hints are for Ladybug only.”

“What if I told you that Tikki is sleeping?”

“What if I told you that I know that’s a lie because I saw her on your shoulder through the window before I knocked?”

She shoved him, almost sending him backwards over the railing. If his balance wasn’t enhanced while transformed, she probably would have. “You’re such a creep! How often do you watch me through my window? I knew you were a tom cat, Adrien, but I wasn’t aware you were a _peeping_ tom cat.”

He placed a hand over his chest in mock offence. “How dare you, Mar? I have never watched you through your window,” he paused and his eyes danced away for a moment, “more than five times.”

Marinette’s mouth fell open, and she grabbed him by his bell. “ _Five_ times!? Adrien, what the hell!?”

Holding his hands up in defense, Chat tried to defuse the situation. “Hey, hey, hey, wait! I have a surprise for you remember?”

She huffed while crossing her arms once again. “Fine, your funeral can wait.”

After calling Tikki out and transforming into Ladybug, Marinette gazed at Chat expectantly. “Okay, so where are we go- _ing!_?” She was taken by surprise when her partner scooped her up into his arms bridal style. Instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck, she cocked a brow underneath her mask. “If you’re going to carry me there, why did I have to transform?”

Chat barked out a laugh. “I thought it would be suspicious if Chat Noir was carrying Marinette Dupain-Cheng around Paris rather than his very public superhero girlfriend. That’d risk our identities, and I could possibly get the reputation of a two-timer.”

She snorted at him. “Does anyone even say ‘two-timer’ anymore?”

Squinting at her, he mumbled, “shuddup.”

Jumping from her terrace, off they went. Chat scaled and hopped from roof to roof with his girlfriend scooped tightly in his arms. Marinette just went along for the ride as the breeze kissed her cheeks, and she watched the bright lights of Paris flash by as they traveled. Suddenly, the streets got a little darker as they approached a section of abandoned buildings that had yet to be redone with construction. As they reached the side of one of the empty buildings, Marinette noticed a hole that was obviously caused by cataclysm. Chat slipped the two of them into the hole, only for them to be surrounded by the darkness of the building.

Planting her on her feet, Chat placed his hands over Marinette’s eyes. “Keep your eyes closed, don’t open them until I say so.”

“Okay?” she responded with confusion clear in her tone.

She heard Adrien moving things around for a moment and idly had a thought wondering how he could set anything up in this darkness. _Night vision,_ she remembered a second later. _Duh._

“Okay, okay,” he chanted in excitement. “You can open them now.”

Slipping her eyes open, Marinette gazed in awe at the scene before her. There were blankets strung from the ceiling, hanging down over more blankets that were piled across the floor. Pillows were strewn across the wall that the blankets hung over. What seemed to be old Christmas lights were hung along with the blankets and gave the fort a special glow. A small table sat in the center with a lavender candle in the middle. Two bean bag chairs sat on either side of the table with snacks gathered around them.

She let out a breath in amazement. “Adrien, you did this for me?”

Nodding, he beamed at her. “Yeah, I remembered how much you said you loved making blanket forts with your dad as a kid, so I decided to make one for you.” He gazed at his handy-work before turning nervously back to her. “D-Do you like it?”

“Like it? I _love_ it!” she threw her arms around his neck. “This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me, Adrien, I can’t believe you went through so much trouble for me!”

He laughed while wrapping his arms around her back. “Of course, I’d do anything for you. Plus, I figured it was time to show you my secret hide-out. Now it’s _our_ secret hide out.”

Marinette pulled back with a giggle and booped him on the nose. “I’m so privilege to be invited to your private space.”

Releasing his transformation, Adrien pecked her on the forehead. He grabbed her hand and tugged her towards the bean bag chairs and stacks of blankets. She released her own transformation as she sat down in the squishy seat. He tossed a pillow for her lap, and threw a blanket over the two of them. Propping his phone upon the table, he turned to her with a nervous grin. “I know that my phone isn’t a flat screen, but would you want to watch a movie?”

“Sure, anything you want,” she said with a smile as she began to partake in the snack pile.

Truthfully, they were more caught up in each other’s company than actually watching the film. Adrien cracked jokes about the characters a few times, which eventually earned chips being thrown at him as Marinette protested in annoyance. Their kwamis watched as an all-out food war began, that eventually led to Adrien having cheese puff residue in his hair.

Eventually the pair cuddled together and actually began watching the tiny screen, and Adrien rested his chin on Marinette’s head. She smiled when a light snore escaped his lips. He had gone through so much trouble to make this for her, she was sure he must’ve been exhausted. Marinette had never felt so spoiled in her life. Best date night ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ironically it is 4AM while I'm posting this and that's tomorrow's prompt. Hahaha... (Someone please send help.)


	7. 4 A.M.

Marinette jolted straight up in her bed. A thick sheen of sweat covered her body, and she moved her hand up to wipe at her wet hairline. Panting, she placed a hand on her chest to feel her palpitating heart.

Tikki floated up from spot on the comforter after being awoken by her chosen’s sudden movement. She placed a pad onto Marinette’s forehead. “Are you okay?”

Huffing, she nodded and quickly picked up her phone. 4:00 A.M. it read. He would most likely be asleep, but she just needed him. Needed his voice, his comfort, and his amazing hugs. She was desperate. Clicking on her contacts, his name popped up first, and she hit the call icon. It rang a few times, and she started to get a worried ache in the pit of her stomach. She sighed in relief when she heard the line.

_“Marinette?”_ his voice murmured groggily through the phone.

“Adrien.”

Groaning into the phone, he responded in a grumble, _“Do you know what time it is, my lady? If this is about one of your late night romance novel readings again then I’m--”_

“Adrien,” she whimpered, barely able to keep her composure.

Suddenly, all sleep was gone from his voice. _“What’s wrong?”_

“I-I… I had that nightmare again.”

A beat of silence. _“I’ll be right there.”_ The line immediately went dead.

o~o~o~o

There was only about a five minute wait between him hanging up the phone and a tapping on her trap door. Scooching to the edge of her bed, she propped up on her knees to unlock and push it open.

Instantly, there was a zap of green light and a pajama-clad Adrien was on her in seconds. Swooping his arms around her, he knocked them both down onto her bed.

He pulled her tightly to him and nuzzled into her hair. “I’m here. You’re okay.”

Sniffling, she gripped the back of his night shirt. “It’s always so scary seeing you like that.”

“Nothing’s wrong with me. It’s only a dream,” he cooed as he pet her hair.

She buried her face into his chest, his white shirt growing damp from her tears. Adrien simply rubbed comforting circles on her back, trailing his fingers lightly up and down her spine to relax her. His free hand then ran slowly up her arm and into her hair. Running his fingers through her loose locks caused her to sigh contently.

Brushing her bangs out of the way, he placed a small kiss to her forehead. “Everything is alright. I’m completely fine. Not a scratch on me.”

She gazed up him through her long lashes. “But what if something does happen? What if it’s a vision or something? You’re bleeding, a-and I can’t stop it. Lucky Charm never works in the dream. It’s happening all the ti--”

Pressing a finger to her lips, he hushed her. “You’re worry about something that hasn’t even happened. It’s just a dream, Mar. It doesn’t mean it’s going to become a reality. Superpowers or not, we don’t know the future.”

“But what if--”

Adrien shook his head. “No ‘what ifs,’ my lady. The more you worry about it, the more frequent the night terror will become. Just relax, okay?”

“Okay,” she replied with a small nod.

The pair lay there in silence as Adrien continued trying to sooth her qualms. Her heartbeat had finally slowed to a normal pace once again, and she was no longer sweating like a nervous hog. Feeling better, Marinette pulled away from his chest, so she could see him more clearly. His emerald eyes bore into hers intently as he seemed to analyze if she was actually alright or not. Simply staring at each other, they continued to say nothing. It wasn’t until Adrien’s eyelids drooped and a dopey grin spread across his lips that Marinette decided to speak up.

“What’s with the face?”

“Nothing, you’re just beautiful.”

Blushing slightly, she rolled her eyes to cover up the flattery. “Pulling out the Chat Noir suave, huh?”

He snickered. “You think I’m suave, princess?”

“I think you try to be.”

Gaping at her, he scoffed. “How dare you? I’m a _purr_ -fect gentleman. I can woo you any day, Marinette.”

Rolling her eyes again, Marinette sighed. “Sure, you can,” she said as she turned over on her side.

Adrien simply scooted closer to her and wound his arms across her waist. Nosing her against the ear, he murmured, “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

“Maybe, I just wanted you to spoon me,” she muttered irritably in response.

Humming, he chuckled. “I don’t think that’s what you were really going for, but I’ll let it slide.”

He tugged her closer, and she sighed contently. “Thank you for coming.”

“Of course, anything for you.”

“Will you wait until I fall asleep to leave?”

“As always, my lady.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annddd it's short again, but I really just need to sleep.


	8. New

“I can’t today, Alya. I told you that I was going to see Adrien’s new apartment this afternoon,” Marinette explained with her phone to her ear while measuring fabric for her newest design.

_“Oh, that’s right. Gotta go check out your lover boy’s new digs.”_

She groaned. “You’ve been around Nino too long. You’re starting to sound like him.”

Alya snorted on the other end of the line. _“Don’t give me that. Do you know how many cheesy jokes and puns I’ve had to endure since you and Adrien have been together? That boy has a worse sense of humor than Chat Noir.”_

Laughing nervously in response, Marinette replied, “I can’t argue with that. But, good thing you love us, right?”

_“I have to with all that you two put me through. All of the crushing and love-sick goo-goo eyes. Time in my life I’ll never get back.”_

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I’m sorry I can’t see you, but hey, that gives you time with Nino, doesn’t it?” she chimed as she began to pack her supplies back into her kit. She had to get dressed and ready to go meet Adrien.

_“Girl, I live with Nino. I spend more time with that boy than I do with myself.”_

Marinette cackled at that. “I believe it. Well, I really need to go Alya. Adrien is expecting me soon.”

_“Right, right. Gotta christen that new apartment,”_ Alya sang.

She flushed with her mouth dropping. “Alya! It’s nothing like that! Adrien and I aren’t—we don’t—we haven’t… Adrien and I haven’t gone that far, _okay?_ ”

Alya’s laughter chimed through the phone. _“Girl, don’t I know? If anything happened, I would know immediately. Hey, now you have the perfect opportunity! He’s out on his own. You two could have plenty of alone time without the threat of parents walking in. From personal experience, it’s great.”_

“Must you tease me like this? It’s not about that for me. I’m just proud of Adrien for finally working up the courage to get out from under his father’s thumb. He’s going to be so happy.”

_“I know. I’m just joking—sort of. Well, I’ll let you go be with your man. Tell him I’m proud of him too.”_

“Of course. Love you, Alya.”

_“Love you, too, girl. Talk to you in a bit.”_

After hanging up the phone, Marinette finished packing up her fabrics.  She changed from her pajamas and glanced up at her sleeping kwami. A light tap on the creature’s head was enough to pull her from her slumber. Blinking with sleepy eyes, Tikki gazed at her chosen.

“I’ve got cookies in my purse for you, ready to see Adrien and Plagg’s new home?”

Her kwami smiled. “Oh, of course, Marinette! It’s so great seeing the two of you grow up together.”

Kissing her on the head, Marinette beamed. She placed Tikki into her purse and descended down the stairs to begin her trek to the apartments.

o~o~o~o

Upon reaching the establishment, Marinette was thrilled to see Adrien waiting for her outside the building. He smiled when he saw her, his eyes soft. She pranced over to him in quick strides, wrapping her arms around his neck to squeeze him in a tight hug.

Between her designs and helping her parents out at the bakery, she hadn’t gotten to see Adrien as much as she had liked to. Especially recently since he had been apartment hunting. While he was still modeling, it wasn’t as often as it used to be. It was more of a side job just to make extra cash. Even though he was moving out, his father was still going to give him an “allowance” to help pay for the necessities while Adrien found another job he wanted to apply to.

Adrien leaned back from her arms. “I’ve missed getting to see you,” he said before pressing his forehead to hers. “It feels like ages.”

This caused Marinette to giggle. “I saw you last week, Adrien.”

“I know, but it was only _one day._ Clearly not enough doses of vitamin Marinette.”

Smiling, she shook her head. “Pretty sure ‘vitamin Marinette’ isn’t something you need for actual sustenance.”

He puffed out his lip, managing his best pouty cat face. “I certainly do. Vitamin Marinette is my favorite one.”

Rolling her eyes, Marinette sighed. “You’re so full of it. Do I get to see where you’re going to live now, or not?”

The two detached from one another, and Adrien took her hand instead. Guiding her to the stairs, he bowed at the waist. “After you, my lady.”

Scoffing at his dramatics, Marinette followed the direction she was shown. The pair arrived before Adrien’s apartment door, and he fumbled with the key that he was still getting used to. As they walked into the space, Marinette was surprised to see the home fully furnished.

“Furniture, already?” she asked.

Adrien gave a nod. “Yeah, house warming gift from my father?”

“Oh, _that_ is a house warming gift? He gave you everything except the kitchen sink.” Her comment earned her a laugh from her boyfriend. But, she couldn’t help but appreciate the pale colored furniture that matched the bland walls. He obviously hadn’t put any of his own “Adrien” touches to the place yet, but she knew it would look marvelous when he did.

“Adrien, I do have to say, it’s quite beautiful.”

Her boyfriend slipped his arms around her waist from behind. “Yep, and it’s all ours.”

Marinette stiffened and felt Adrien flinch behind her. “What did you say?”

“Um…”

“ _Ours?_ ” she asked as she turned around in his arms to face him.

Adrien was blushing, even the tips of his ears were pink. “Y-Yes. If you want it to be that is. I already talked to you parents and asked for their permission. They told me about them living together even younger than we are now. I just want to spend every day with you, as much as I can. Waking up to you, each and every day is something I would be willing to do for the rest of my life.”

Marinette’s hand flew to her mouth at Adrien’s confession. Feeling her heart swelling in her chest, she yanked herself towards him and squished him into a tight hug. “Yes, Adrien! Of course!”

“You mean it?” he said with a grin.

“Yes,” she smiled, “I mean it.”

Pressing her lips to his, she pulled him into a heartfelt kiss that made her heart soar. He wanted to be with her. Live with her. Wake up to her. She would happily oblige to all of those wishes. Adrien was always so considerate. Simply just wanting her presence in his life was enough for him to take a step such as this. Marinette was ready for all of it. A new home. A new life with Adrien. A new journey. Together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This got cheesier and mushier than I had intended. Also I'm doped on Aleve PM so excuse any errors.


	9. It's You

This was not good. Not good at all. Ladybug held onto Chat Noir’s hand as they navigated their way through the black hallways. The electricity of at the Le Grand Paris had been zapped thanks to the akuma. Chat guided her through the darkness with a tight grip on her arm. His ring let out a shrill beep as another one of his pads vanished from the ring.

“Chat, you’re going to change back soon. What do we do?”

Pausing their movements, he let out a sigh. “I don’t exactly know. I could drop my transformation and feed my kwami, but that would be wasting time.”

Ladybug groaned and rubbed her temples. “We don’t really have much of a choice, do we? If you lose your transformation, we’re doomed to be wandering aimlessly without being able to see. The best option is for you to do now while I can’t see you, and you can guide us out of here after you transform back.”

“Good plan, my lady,” Chat said with a nod. Not that she could see it in the pitch black. “Close your eyes.”

Ladybug covered her eyes with her hands. Hearing Chat mumble some words, she then felt a surge of static near her.

“Finally!” cried a voice she didn’t recognize. Must have been Chat’s kwami.

“This isn’t the time, Plagg, eat up quickly, we have to get out of here,” Chat insisted. Huh. Weird. Chat sounded a little different while he was himself.

“I have to transform you _again?_ ”

“C’mon, Plagg! Now is not the time! Just eat the cheese!”

Ladybug slightly peaked through her fingers, making sure she wouldn’t see him in the darkness. She slipped her hands away from her face. She saw the outline of Chat, but no features could be seen. Except for the tiny silver glint shining off his finger. Oh, that must have been what his ring looked like while dormant, just like her earrings dulling.

“So you’re ring turns silver when it’s disguised?”

“What?” she saw Chat’s shadow lift the hand with said jewelry. “Oh, yeah. It does. What do your earrings do?”

Ladybug clicked her tongue. “They just turn a darker red, and have no spots, obviously.”

“It’s cool how the miraculous work, isn’t it?”

“It is.”

This was so awkward. She was sure it was weird for him to be around her without his transformation. His identity was so open right then. Easily, she could just get super close up to him and make out his features and know who he was. Not that she wanted to, but the curiosity was always there. Luckily, her miraculous was the ladybug rather than a cat. No wonder he always wanted to know who she was.

“Okay. I’m done,” the kwami, Plagg, groaned. “Say the magic words…”

“Plagg, claws out!”

o~o~o~o

Marinette was exhausted. After the amount of akuma attacks and the late hours she had been staying up to finish homework after said akuma attacks, she was running on empty. No amount of coffee or sugar would pep her up enough to make it through this day.

“Hey, girl!” Alya chimed in her usual chipper mood as Marinette approached the school.

Letting out a yawn, Marinette replied groggily, “Morning, Alya.”

“Woah, you too? What’s with all the sleep deprivation today?”

Marinette cocked her head in confusion at her friend. “What do you mean?”

“Adrien has been yawning since he got here. They don’t lie when they say yawns are contagious. Nino and I started yawning just being around the guy for five minutes. You two must be meant for each other. You have the same terrible habits.”

Stretching her arms, Marinette sighed. “Yeah, yeah. Too bad I can’t make words around him.”

Alya grinned slyly and nudged her with her shoulder. “We have library with the boys today, maybe you and Adrien could be nap buddies. No words needed.”

She flushed. “Alya! There’s no way I could do that.”

As the bell rang and the pair began walking up the steps for class, Alya continued her teasing. “Are you sure? Think about it. Cuddling with Adrien~” she sang.

“Stop. I wouldn’t have the guts.”

Smirking, Alya shook her head. “We’ll see about that.”

o~o~o~o

The four of them sat at the table together in the library. Marinette’s head bobbed as she dozed, barely keeping herself awake. Next to her, Adrien was having similar luck. His elbow was propped up on the table, and his hand rested on his palm. He blinked slowly at his book, almost as if he was looking through it rather than actually reading it. Occasionally, his chin would begin to slip off his hand, only to startle himself back awake and try to continue his reading.

“Adrien, dude, if you don’t wake up, you’re going to start drooling. Drooling isn’t attractive for models,” Nino joked from across the table.

Alya scooted her book to the side and perched her elbows onto the table. “Are you two hiding something from us? I swear, you’re always both vanishing at the same time, tired at the same time, coming back around the same time. Are you secretly _dating?_ ”

“ _What!?_ ” Marinette squeaked.

Adrien’s eyes widened as he processed Alya’s words. “N-No, Alya! It’s nothing like that. Marinette and I are just friends, and plus, I have a girl that I’m interested in.”

Marinette’s heart dropped. He liked someone? Tears weld in her eyes, and she shot her head down to look at the book in front of her. She pretended like there wasn’t wet drops falling onto the paper.

Alya sent her best friend a sympathetic look before turning her attention back to Adrien. “Oh, really? Does she go to our school?”

Adrien shrugged. “She might?”

Cocking a brow, Alya gave him a confused stare. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He doesn’t know what school she goes to because my boy over there is madly in love with Ladybug,” Nino piped in.

Marinette’s brain short circuited.

Adrien liked Ladybug?

She was Ladybug!

That means… Adrien liked _her!_

_Oh, God. What does this mean!?_ her brain cried. Her face flushed, making all of her tiny freckles completely visible. At first she was crying, now she was blushing like an idiot. _Get a hold of yourself, dummy!_

“Nino,” Adrien cried as his cheeks pinked a little. “Y-You can’t just tell people that!”

Nino let out a snort. “It’s obvious, dude. The way you get all gooey eyed when we talk about her, or how you blushed when we met her during that akuma attack. You’re in so deep.”

Adrien visibly bristled at Nino’s accusations. “W-Well, can you blame me? Ladybug is wonderful. She’s so brave, caring, and sweet. I’ve seen her up close and in action, it’s just amazing. Who wouldn’t love someone like that?”

Marinette’s heart pounded in her ears. Hearing Adrien describe her in all those ways made her want to scream and squeal with joy. How had she never noticed his massive crush on her superhero persona? Also, how did she never notice him during the akuma attacks? She could have dropped in and given him an autograph, or at least said hello.

“Mhmm,” Nino hummed. “He and Ladybug also had a moment during the akuma attack at the TV station. When we went back to Adrien’s house.”

Alya gaped at him. “Ladybug was in your _house?_ You _talked_ to her?”

Ruffling the back of his hair, he let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah, we did have kind of a moment. But, I haven’t really gotten to—um—talk to her since then.”

Why did that sound like a lie? She didn’t remember seeing Adrien again since that incident, but that certainly sounded like a false statement. Her heart couldn’t handle much more of this. Marinette simply laid her head onto her open book. From Alya’s perspective, she’s probably think that Marinette was laying down simply because she no longer wanted to hear Adrien gush about another woman. However, it was quite the opposite. She loved knowing that Adrien liked her in some form, but she just needed time to rack her brain and truly process. This was certainly going to be a conversation with Tikki later.

o~o~o~o

Suddenly, she was being slightly shaken on the arm. Light seeped into her eyes as she cracked a lid open. When had she fallen asleep? Wasn’t she just in the library with her friends? Glancing around, Marinette noticed a hand touching her arm. That ring… she knew that ring.

“Hey? Marinette?” She knew that voice too.

The voice… The ring… Chat Noir…?

 “Marinette,” the voice said gently. “Library’s over. Time to wake up,” it sang.

Grumbling, Marinette buried her face into her folded arms. “Five more minutes, Chat. I don’t want to get up yet.”

The hand on her arm flinched and rocketed away. What? Did she say something wrong? Blinking again, Marinette sat up slowly. She rubbed one eye as she glanced up at the figure that had retreated. “Chat..?”

However, she was stunned to see Adrien standing there over her with his face completely pale. His lips were screwed into a tight line, and his eyes were blown wide in panic. Why did he look so horrified? What had she said? Oh, right. She had called him ‘Chat’ hadn’t she? But why would that scare him?

“W-What did you call me?” Adrien squeaked.

Shaking her head, Marinette tried to recover from such an embarrassing mix up. “N-Nothing! Don’t worry about it! Your voice—it just reminded me of someone.”

Adrien glanced away before his eyes slowly trailed back to her person. Except he wasn’t looking at her eyes, he was staring at her earrings. _Why_ was he staring at her earrings? Marinette shifted uncomfortably as Adrien seemed to study the studs in her ears.

“Adrien? I-Is everything okay?”

“Someone like Chat Noir?”

Her eyes widened at him. “N-No! I have a friend who I call Chat—cause h-he acts like a cat. Yeah. That’s all.”

“You’re a terrible liar, my lady.”

Scoffing, Marinette went on the defensive. “No, I’m no— _what_ did you just call me?”

Adrien slipped his bag back down onto the table and slipped into the chair next to her. He smiled and reached out, caressing her earring with his thumb. Marinette sucked in a surprised breath but didn’t pull away. She was mesmerized by his emerald gaze. His eyes were so soft. The softest she had ever seen them. He was looking at her with such _admiration._ “It’s you,” he breathed so quietly.

He reached for her hand and as soon as her fingers touched the ring, she knew. Suddenly, everything made sense. Adrien smiled as her shocked expression. “Adrien? Are you…?” she couldn’t say it. But he knew what she meant.

Nodding at her, his face visibly melted. She had never seen him so happy. Marinette felt a swell in her chest that only she could get that type of reaction out of him. He let out a sigh before gazing into her eyes. “Marinette, I… I love you. You already heard my whole spiel earlier today when I told Alya, but I admire you so much and you mean the world to me. I’m so glad it’s you. It makes so much sense. Ladybug couldn’t be anyone but you.”

“Adrien…” she sighed.

Chewing his lip, he looked away from her nervously. “You don’t have to feel the same way, I just wanted you to know.”

“But I do.”

He shot his head back to face her. “You—do?”

“Yes, I do, you silly kitty cat. I love you, too,” she chimed with a boop to his nose.

They both laughed at that. His laugh sounded as true and pure as the day she fell in love with him. He was wonderful, and knowing that he was her goofy, silly, partner in fighting crime, made things all the better. She knew Adrien even more than she thought she did. She knew his favorite things, his fears. He was her best friend.

“My lady, can I…? Can I kiss you?” Aw. He looked so nervous. She just wanted to take that all away. No more worries for her kitty.

Marinette gasped dramatically. “In the library? Adrien, how scandalous!”

Tucking two fingers under her chin, he lifted her head. “Only if we get caught. What do you say?”

She smiled. “I say, okay.”

Cupping her cheeks in his hands, he pulled her into a gentle, chaste kiss. And in that moment, Marinette knew that she could live happily just like this.


	10. Secret Sleepover

Adrien had frequently snuck over to Marinette’s house as both himself and his superhero alter ego more than he wanted to admit. After finding out her identity, her bedroom basically became their safe space to discuss miraculous matters, and, slowly but surely, he started seeing who Ladybug really was. If it was possible to fall harder than he already had, then Adrien was certainly face planting. They started having “homework dates” as Alya would call them. Now, he hadn’t intended to kiss her on one of said homework dates, but he definitely hadn’t regretted the outcome. Never in a million years did he think that Marinette, the clumsy, sweet girl from his class, would become the love of his life.

And yet, here he was, sneaking into her room like he did almost every other day.

Adrien shivered and tried to rub the rain off his leather suit. Shaking his hair, water splayed out everywhere. Marinette squeaked as the droplets hit her, holding her arms up in defense. “I thought you were a cat, not a dog!” she cried.

Smirking, he gave a lopsided shrug. “Eh, even so, the water has to get out of my hair somehow.”

“How about with a towel? Like a normal human?” she teased, placing her hands on her hips.

He barked out a laugh. “Yeah, that works too.”

With a roll of her eyes, Marinette shook her head with a sigh. “Stay put, alley cat.”

“Of course,” he chimed with a cheeky grin. “Nowhere else I’d rather be.”

He heard her laughter as she exited the room through her trap door. Suddenly, there was a tiny, red kwami zipping up towards his face. Cupping his hands, the creature perched herself there. “Hello, Adrien,” Tikki sang.

“Hi, Tikki. How is Marinette doing?” he asked. He always made a routine of asking Tikki if his girlfriend as alright. Marinette had a habit of keeping the truth from him at times if she thinks it’s too much of a bother, or if she’s embarrassed. It’s frustrating at times because he simply wants her to trust him, but knowing the Ladybug he always had, she has too much pride to let someone know when she’s struggling.

The kwami smiled sadly. “There’s a reason she called you over here tonight. She’s not too much of a fan of this weather.”

Adrien cocked a brow under his mask, confusion etched in his features. “Marinette hasn’t seemed to be afraid of storms in the past?”

Shaking her head, Tikki replied, “She wasn’t. This is a fairly— _recent_ development.”

He nodded in understanding. “Alright,” he pat the tiny creature on her head, “thanks, Tikki.”

“Are you two done talking about me now?”

Adrien flinched, and Tikki fluttered out of his hands when the two both saw Marinette standing above her trap door with a towel slung over her arm. Hissing, he ran a hand through the back of his hair. “U-Um, yeah? Tikki, why don’t you and Plagg take some time to yourselves? Claws off.” His transformation whisked away, leaving his kwami floating out of the ring. Bobbing his head toward Tikki, Adrien sent a look to the creature. “Give us a minute, will you, Plagg?”

“Sure, good luck with what you did this time, kid.”

Clenching his teeth, Adrien glowered. “Not. Helping.”

As the two kwamis flew out of sight, he turned his attention to his obviously annoyed girlfriend. Marinette merely sighed, strutting towards him and flopping the towel over his head. She sat down next to him on the chaise. “So, do you often talk about my person life with my kwami behind my back?”

“Define ‘often’?” he grumbled guiltily as he rubbed his hair with the towel.

She scoffed. “ _Really_ , Adrien? Must you?”

He sighed, yanking the towel off his head to reveal very obvious Chat-like hair. Gazing at her pleadingly, Adrien whimpered. “I know you’re probably peeved at me, but you tend to withhold information a lot.”

Crossing her arms, she whipped her head away from him. “Yeah, for good reason, apparently.”

“Is it really?” She simply jutted out her bottom lip into a pout, stiffening her shoulders and hunching away from him. Adrien snorted at her dramatics. “Mari, pride isn’t exactly an ideal reason.”

“It isn’t pride!” she snapped.

“Then what is it?” he fired back quickly.

Marinette loosened her stubborn stance, instead she clenched the edges of the chaise and gazed down at the floor. “I just—I just don’t want you to think less of me.”

Adrien gaped at her. “How—How could you think that? How could I _ever_ think less of you for being human? Marinette, why didn’t you just tell me you’re scared of storms? It’s not something to be ashamed of.”

Blinking slowly, she glanced back up at him. “It’s not storms… it’s just lightning. Ever since--”

The gears in his brain spun quickly. Finally, things started to click into place for him. He already knew. “That electrical akuma. The one the shocked me. It scared you, didn’t it?”

Marinette gave a brief nod. “Yeah… it’s just that… whenever there’s a storm with such bright lightning like this, it makes me think of how badly you were hurt. If it weren’t for the restoration powers, you could have been in big trouble.”

He reached out, brushing a stay bang behind her ear. “But I wasn’t, my lady. You healed me. I’m completely fine.”

“I-I know. Is it silly that I keep asking you over here during storms to make sure you’re safe with me?” she asked giving him a side glance as she slowly hugged herself.

Adrien snorted. “Having me run over here outside defeats the purpose a little, doesn’t it?”

She rolled her eyes. “I know. Why do you think I insist on you being on communicator call with me the entire time you’re running over here? It’s not that far anyway.”

He nudged her lightly. “I’m just teasing, princess.” Reaching up and playing with one of her pigtails, he smiled. “It’s really sweet that you worry for me.”

“I worry you’ll dance in the rain with a metal cane, obviously.”

He laughed at that. Suddenly, a loud flash lit up the room from the window, and Marinette was in his lap within seconds with a yelp. He was surprised at first, but after gathering his bearings he wrapped his arms around her. She was shaking. Adrien ran a hand through her hair in an attempt to comfort her.

“I’m sorry…” she murmured.

Nuzzling his nose in her hair, he gave a dry laugh. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

“Will you sleepover tonight?”

Smiling into her hair, he nodded. “Of course.”

o~o~o~o

Marinette groggily blinked her eyes open. The sun peaked in through her windows, shining brightly and making her squint. It was then the processed something was different. What was that weight on her waist? Rolling over, she was surprised when her nose bumped into another. Her eyes widened as she almost screamed, but instead she only let out a tiny squeal. All of the memories from the previous night flooded back into her mind. The storm, Adrien comforting her with cuddling and kisses until they eventually fell asleep in her bed.

Adrien stirred slightly, his nose scrunching at her sudden disturbance. Groaning, he wrapped his arms more tightly around her, eliciting another squeak from her. He cracked one eye open, brows furrowing in annoyance. “You’re noisy,” he grumbled, his voice thick with sleep.

She nuzzled her nose into his more and smiled. “Well,” she whispered, “it’s my bed. I can do what I want.”

Rumbling in his throat again, he squeezed his eyes closed tightly. “I know my rights,” he mumbled.

Marinette snorted, but said nothing else. Instead, she focused on the feeling of his hand that was rubbing soothing circles onto her side as he held her to him. He was such a snuggle bunny. It was adorable. Not that she minded. Being close to him was the most amazing feeling in the world. So safe and protected. Warm and fuzzy feelings bubbled in her stomach. She could stay in his arms forever.

She nosed his cheek, making him turn his head slightly. Pressing her lips lightly to his, she kissed him, soft and slow. He whimpered lightly at the contact. As she pulled back, his eyes fluttered open. Smiling, his lips twitched into a smirk. “That’s something I can wake up to every morning.”

Marinette shook her head. “You’re such a dork.”

Adrien cupped her cheek, pulling her back in. Their lips tied in a gentle dance, making Marinette sigh at such sweetness. He sucked her bottom lip between his teeth, making her giggle and pull away.

She booped him on the nose with a smile. “Control yourself, mister,” she teased.

He laughed. “Around you? Never.”

Leaning back in, he captured her mouth again. Marinette had definitely found her new favorite thing: good morning kisses. Her heart pounded and her mind was swept away with the feeling of his lips against hers.

“Marinette? Are you awake, honey?”

They jolted apart, and Adrien’s eyes popped open. Panic took over his features. She placed a finger to her lips to hush him, and threw the blanket over his head. Throwing pillows on top of him, she barely covered him in time for her mother to open the trap door to her room.

She sat up in her bed with a nervous smile as her mother began to speak. “Oh, you are up. It’s not like you to be awake so early. I was just coming to check on you. Alya stopped by the bakery and said she had big news and wanted you to call her right away.”

“Yes, Mama! I’ll do that! Thank you for letting me know.”

Sabine stared at her daughter for a moment before tilting her head. “Everything okay?”

Marinette felt Adrien flinch beside her, but she merely nodded quickly. “Yes, ma’am!”

Her mother eyed her suspiciously. “Alright… have you always had that many pillows on your bed?”

“Yes!” she peeped.

Sabine hummed before shrugging. “Oh, alright. I just don’t remember.”

“Y-Yup! A-Always have!”

Her mother leaned forward, propping her elbow up on the floor and resting her hand on her palm. This wasn’t good. Sabine gave a knowing smirk. Marinette instantly felt guilt swirling in her gut. “Hey, Marinette?”

She blushed and gazed down at her twiddling thumbs. “Yes, Mama?”

“The next time you decide to sneak Adrien in, at least make sure he’s hidden the entire night. I do get up and check on you sometimes, you know.”

The mound of pillows next to her shifted, letting Sabine know that Adrien was still there. He sprung from underneath the covers, face flushed and hair a wreck. “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Cheng. Marinette called me because she was scared of the thunderstorm, and I just--”

Sabine shook her head and put a finger to her lips. “Calm down, now. Tom doesn’t know you’re up here. I trust you two, don’t worry. But, Marinette,” her mother’s tone turned serious for a moment.

“Y-Yes?”

“You and I are going to have a talk later.”

Marinette nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

Her mom slipped back out of her room. The pair gaped at each other, faces completely flushed. Adrien ran a hand through his messy, blonde locks. “Well, I guess that’s the end of our secret sleepovers, huh?”

She gave a sigh. “Yeah, I don’t want to experience this again.”

“Maybe, they can still be sort of secret? Where only your mom knows?”

Marinette laughed, tackling him back down to the bed. “Sort of secret sleepovers it is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love how I say I'm going to write these right after work instead of at 4AM, and yet, here I am: writing them at 4AM anyway!
> 
> (Also, before anyone freaks out over how chill Sabine is about the situation, this is literally how my own mother is, and I like to think I turned out as a decent human being. Just writing based on my life experiences.)


	11. Plushies/Stuffed Animals

“I can’t believe your first year anniversary with Adrien is the _one day_ this week he has a photoshoot the _entire_ day,” Alya huffed as Marinette walked beside her into the school doors.

With a sigh, Marinette nodded her head in disappointment. “I know, but he can’t control it.”

As the two made their way into the locker room, Alya let out a suspicious hum. “You don’t think his dad did this on purpose, did you?”

Eyebrows shooting up, Marinette blinked in surprise. “I don’t think so. Mr. Agreste is actually quite fond of me, I think. He tells Adrien all the time that he’s lucky to have such a talented girlfriend.”

“Wow,” Alya said with a whistle. “From what Nino says, Mr. Agreste is a serious stick in the mud. You must have really impressed him to get such high praise.”

Marinette gave a shrug and began putting in the combination to her locker. “It’s—It’s a learning process, honestly. I’m just very polite and go with whatever Adrien guides me into doing. The last thing I want to do is get him in toub…le…?” her voice trailed off as she saw what sat on top of her books.

Alya leaned over her shoulder to see what all of the fuss was about. Marinette gaped in surprise at the small stuffed cat that stared back at her. Had Adrien done this? It looked suspiciously like Plagg, so it couldn’t have been anyone else. Placing a hand over her heart, her best friend cooed at the sight. “Adrien Agreste is one of the sweetest boys on the planet, how lucky are you, girl?”

Marinette reached in her locker to retrieve the plush and was amazed at how soft it was to the touch. It felt like velvet against her fingertips as the brushed her hand through the toy’s fur. That’s when she noticed the small note hanging off of its ear. Cocking a brow, she turned it over.

_You’re amazing, talented, and very purrretty. Happy Anniversary. –Adrien <3 _

“Aww!!” Alya cried as she shoot Marinette’s shoulders. “Mari, why am _I_ more excited for this than you are? This is absolutely _adorable_ ,” she gushed.

“Adorkable, you mean. Because my boyfriend is a complete dork,” Marinette replied with a snort as she continued to pat the plush in her hands.

She smiled down at the creature, grateful she at least got something sweet from Adrien even if she wouldn’t be seeing him today. A gesture like this was so like him. It didn’t even surprise her. Grabbing her books, she placed the kitty back into her locker for safe keeping and took Alya’s arm as the pair began their hike up the stairs to their class.

What she didn’t expect was Nino staring intensely at her when she walked in the door. Marinette glanced at Alya to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. He covered his mouth, obviously holding back a smile behind his hand. What was going on? Did he know about the cat? Had he assumed she hadn’t seen it yet? Had he placed it in her locker for Adrien, maybe? She simply couldn’t figure him out.

But then…

She saw her seat. There was another stuffed creature sitting on the desk that she and Alya shared. Marinette’s eyes almost bugged, and the rest of classmates didn’t hide their knowing smirks and awes. Making her way to the desk, Marinette realized what it was.

“Is that a _cow_?” Alya clucked as she leaned onto their desk.

Marinette’s face scrunched in confusion. “Looks like it.” A cat she could understand, for obvious reasons. But… a cow? What the hell, Adrien? As she sat down in her seat, she flipped the card up that was attached to the cow’s ear, just as it had been with the cat plush.

_I love you to the moooon and back, my princess. –Adrien <3_

Groaning, Marinette flopped her head onto the desk. Her faced actually flushing a bit out of embarrassment and flattery too. For some reason, Adrien calling her “princess” was something that still hadn’t sunk in yet, even after a year of being together. He called her “my lady” most of the time, but he probably thought that would be suspicious in case someone else besides her read the card.

…Like Alya was doing right then.

“This boy has some serious game,” Alya teased as she nudged her best friend.

“Stooopp…” she groaned with a puff of her cheeks. “He loves embarrassing me.”

“He also loves you to the moooon and back, _princess_.”

 Marinette’s head shot up. “Alya!” she cried in a harsh whisper. “Don’t tell people what it said…”

“I’m only teasing,” Alya said, sticking out her tongue. Alya seemed to have a moment of thought before she turned her attention to her own boyfriend, flicking Nino’s hat off his head.

“Hey--!”

As he spun around in his seat, Alya’s arms crossed, and she stuck her nose in the air. “Why don’t you have any grand gestures in your pocket for me like Adrien, hm?”

Nino stared at her flatly. “Because no one’s better than Adrien at romance. _No one._ ”

Alya hummed. “I guess, that is true.”

Marinette sat mortified for the rest of class.

o~o~o~o

After endless teasing from Alya, Marinette trekked home with both stuffed animals wrapped in her arms. She opened the door to the bakery and was surprised to find no hint of her mother in sight. That was strange. When Marinette glanced at the counter, she froze. Was that a stuffed _bear_ sitting next to the cash register? She sat the cat and cow down onto one of the tables and strode up to the counter. Yup. Definitely a stuffed bear. In that moment, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to slap Adrien and kiss the hell out of him. Nino was right. No one did romance better than Adrien Agreste. Marinette flicked the tag up to see whatever cheesy line he had come up with this time.

_My life without you would simply be un_ bear _able. –Adrien <3_

Marinette actually couldn’t hold back a giggle at that one. Sighing and shaking her head with a smile, she scooped up all three animals and started towards her room. When she made it to the living room, that’s where she saw her mother cleaning the coffee table.

Sabine smiled. “Oh, hi, sweetie! I see you’re home,” she paused. “Oh, should I even ask?”

Marinette squinted at her. “Like you didn’t know about his plan. This was obviously planted.”

Chuckling, her mother held her hands up in defense. “I only knew about two of them.”

“Which two?”

“You’ll see.”

Tikki giggled from inside her purse.

Marinette couldn’t tell if she was annoyed or completely wooed at the situation. She supposed she should be grateful Adrien cared so much. He just loved giving her attention, that silly, needy kitty. As Marinette opened her trap door, with difficulty from all of the plush toys, she immediately noticed the stuffed creature sitting on her desk. A bee? Now, that was a new one. Setting all of the animals down on the chaise, she made her way over to the new arrival to the club.

_You’re so_ bee _autiful, it’s un_ bee _lieveable. – Adrien <3 _

“Adrien sure has made a lot of effort for you today. It’s really sweet of him,” her kwami chimed as she perched on her shoulder.

“I know, I can’t believe he did all this for me.” She picked up the fat, round plush and sat back down on the chaise with her new-found collection of pets. They were so well made, and so, so soft.

“And you’ve yet to thank him, you know?”

She blinked in surprise. Wow, Tikki was right. After all this, she hadn’t said anything to Adrien all day. Fishing her phone from her pocket, Marinette decided it was time to give the kitty his credit.

_Marinette: So, did you have fun doing this?_

She laughed when three dots instantly appeared on her screen.

**_Adrien: That depends. Did you enjoy it?_ **

_Marinette: I feel flattered and embarrassed. So, I don’t know if ‘enjoy’ is the right word._

**_Adrien: Flattering and embarrassing my lady was the goal._ **

_Marinette: Congrats. Mission accomplished. Achievement unlocked._

**_Adrien: Oh, but how can I get my achievement if the battle isn’t over?_ **

_Marinette: What do you mean?_

**_Adrien: You don’t really think I’d stop there, did you? There’s one more… but I’m afraid it’s in a place where only Ladybug can find it._ **

_Marinette: Oh, really now?_

**_Adrien: I’m afraid so, but you can’t look for it until sunset. Got it?_ **

_Marinette: O..kay? Do I at least get a hint so I’m not running all over Paris trying to find it?_

**_Adrien: It’s the place where I fell in love with you._ **

_Marinette: Wait. Fell in love with Marinette or Ladybug?_

**_Adrien: There’s no difference._ **

Well, she couldn’t argue with that.

o~o~o~o

Marinette hoped this was right. If not, she wasn’t sure what she’d do. Landing on one of the beams of the Eiffel Tower, she glanced around to hopefully locate whatever her last present was. Finally, she saw something small and fuzzy sitting between two slanted poles. She hoped down to recover the creature. Upon closing in, Marinette noticed it looked similar to the bee plush she had received earlier. Except this one was red with black spots. A ladybug. How could she not have guessed? Smiling, she reached towards the card.

_What’s got blue eyes, has cute pigtails, and is currently being spotted? ;)_

She blinked. What did that mean? Currently being spotted? As in being Ladybug or… or was he _watching_  her? Marinette started glancing around. “Okay, are you here?”

“No,” a voice said above her.

Her face lit up as she whipped her head upwards to see Chat Noir laid out on a railing above her. He grinned and gave a cheeky wave. Tossing her yoyo, she looped it around the metal and flung herself towards him. He caught her in his waiting arms as they fell back on the iron platform behind him.

“Adrien!” she cried.

“Hey, my lad—mmph!” his words her lost on her lips as she caught his mouth with her own. His eyes fluttered closed as a clawed hand sunk into her raven hair. God, how she loved this boy. He did all of this just for her, to make her feel special.

Pulling away, she caught her breath as she stared down at him beneath her. His face was flushed, and his neon cat eyes glowed brightly under the night sky. Keeping his fingers tangled in her hair, Adrien’s lips twitched into a gentle smirk. “Remind me to get you presents all the time if this is the result.”

She barked out a laugh. “It was the principle, kitty, not the presents.”

“Then I’ll write you love notes all the time, free of charge,” he said with a kiss to her nose.

“Will they be full of puns too?”

His grin was almost blinding. “Of course, I have a reputation to uphold, you know.”

Rolling her eyes, she giggled. “Yes, _of course._ ” Leaning back into him, she pressed her lips to his again, slowly. “Thank you for today. It was really sweet of you.”

“Anything for you.”

Marinette ran her hand up into his blonde locks. “I love you.”

Tugging her down, Adrien nuzzled his nose to hers. “I love you, too. Happy anniversary, princess.”

“Happy anniversary, kitty.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3 guesses what time it is right now...


	12. Mon Coeur

Marinette was a firm believer that a great superhero always thought with her head. But lately, that had that felt so _wrong._ The past few months with Chat Noir had been so different. Previously, Marinette had found his flirts and puns obnoxious, but now? She found them endearing. No one had ever cared for her like Chat did. He put his life on the line for her. Would do anything for her. How had she not seen that before?

“Tikki, if I told Chat Noir who I am, would that be a bad thing?”

Her kwami looked up from her computer desk in surprised. “Not necessarily, but I thought telling Chat Noir who you are was out of the question?”

Marinette ignored the reminder, instead chewing on her pencil in frustration. “Why… Why would it be good?”

Humming, Tikki munched on her cookie. “Well, discussing business outside of costumes, first off. Plagg and I could communicate again. If something were to happen to one of you, the other could alert your families. There are a lot of positives.”

“Any negatives?”

“Only one I can think of is if Chat Noir called you by your real name if an akuma victim possessed him, but that’s not likely.”

Turning to her kwami, Marinette cocked a brow. “Should that be a deal-breaker?”

Tikki shook her head. “Not really. Even if he did, surely there’s more than one person in Paris with the name Marinette.”

“Okay,” she sighed. “Thanks, Tikki.”

“Are you thinking of telling Chat Noir who you are?”

Groaning, Marinette flopped her head and arms onto the desk as she spoke, “I don’t knooww!!”

As the kwami finished her last bites of cookie, she gazed at her chosen with sympathy. “You can talk to me, Marinette. Don’t bottle things in.”

Lifting her head up, Marinette glanced away from Tikki. “I think… I think I’m—I could possibly be developing feelings for Chat Noir.”

Tikki’s mouth dropped. “Really? What about Adrien?”

“I still love him too! I don’t know what to do!”

Smiling up at her chosen, Tikki said in a gentle tone, “Marinette, you need to stop trying to think so much and listen to you heart. There’s nothing wrong with throwing caution to the wind. You don’t have to always think things through so far. Sometimes it’s best to let things go.”

Marinette rested her elbows on the desk, running her hands through her hair. “You’re right. I’m going to tell him.”

o~o~o~o

She couldn’t tell him. He was standing _right there._ No akuma. No news reporters. Just the two of them sitting next to each other on the Effiel Tower. And here she was being a complete chicken. Where did all her Ladybug confidence go?

“My lady?”

Blinking, Ladybug was flustered back into reality. “W-What?”

Chat laughed nervously and ran a hand through his hair. God, had he always been so cute when he did that? “Um, you’re just staring at me? Did I do something?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was just lost in thought, I guess.”

Her kitty—wait, no, not _her_ kitty. She didn’t _own_ him or anything. No, they weren’t like that. Not at all. Nope. _Chat Noir_ seemed intrigued and cocked a brow under his mask. “Oh, really? Can I ask what about?”

“Just—life,” she answered shortly. Giving a sigh, she gave up on the act. “Actually, Chat, how do you deal with being a superhero? How do you make decisions?”

He seemed a little stunned at her question. Blinking in surprise, he hummed in thought. “Well, I guess I just do what my instincts tell me to do. I do what feels right.”

“So, you act on impulse?”

Chat gave a slight shrug. “Maybe, not completely impulse. There’s more to it, I think. Why? What about you?”

Ladybug stiffened. “A-Ah-um… N-No reason, really. I mostly think everything through and rationalize before I make a decision.”

He snorted. “Yeah, I don’t do that at all.”

This was something she could use. They were already having a personal discussion, maybe she could bring up even more. Clicking her tongue, she gathered her courage to speak. “What about when you have a crush on someone? How do you deal with that?”

When she turned to look at him, Chat’s face had gone a bright red. A tomato cat. He reached back up, ruffling his hand through his blonde locks again. Musing the strands, while obviously very flustered at her question. “I-I just listen to what my heart tells me I guess. I don’t want to do anything to rash, though. So, I haven’t really... _said_ anything about it.”

She felt a small sting to her chest. He liked someone _right now?_   “Oh?” she asked teasingly, “does the kitty have a crush on someone?”

Choking, he gulped and shot his head away from her. “Y-Yeah, but she doesn’t know it.”

Ladybug was a little jealous. She had to admit it. “What kind of girl is she?”

Sighing, Chat looked her in the eyes. “She’s amazing. I don’t know what I would do without her. She’s brave and kind of stubborn too, but that’s what makes her so great. She has flaws that I get to see, and I think that makes her more human than most people realize.”

“Wow,” she drawled. “She sounds great.”

He chuckled in response. “She is.” A beat of silence. “What about you? Do you like anyone?”

Chewing on her lip, she decided to answer honestly. “I-I’m actually having a struggle with that. I think I’m falling for more than one guy.”

Chat’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wow, my lady, I didn’t expect you to be one for multiple lovers.”

She gaped at him and smacked his arm. “Chat, I’m not going to date both guys at one time! I’m a one man kind of girl… when I figured out which one I care about more.”

“Well… tell me about them.”

Ladybug let out another sigh. “Well, one of them, Adrien,” she noticed Chat’s breath hic beside her, but chose to continue, “he goes to my school. We’re sort of mutual friends, through our best friends dating, but I’ve liked him since the second day of school last year. He’s just so kind and sweet. Then, the other guy I like… he’s a really close friend of mine and he’s sort of grown on me more recently. He’s goofy and brave, and also kind of a flirt. I don’t know. It’s hard.”

“My lady?”

She glanced over at Chat who looked visibly shaken. “Yes? What’s wrong?”

“What’s Adrien’s last name?”

“I’d rather not say…”

“Humor me, _please_.”

“Fine. He’s Adrien Agreste. Yes, the famous model.”

Chat’s stare grew intense. “And, you go to his school?”

“Yes, Chat, but there’s something I should tell you. Enough about Adrien, I want to talk about you.” This was it. She was going to listen to what her heart told her was right.

Chat seemed confused. “About me?”

Taking in a deep breath, she began, “Yes. I talked to my kwami about this a few days ago, and I’ve been sitting here debating this all night. But after talking to you, and seeing that it’s okay to just follow your heart, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I’ve thought about this for a long time, but I was just so scared that you would reject me, or think less of me.”

Suddenly, there was a hand on hers and Chat squeezed with comfort. “I’ll never think less of you. Ever. No matter what. What is this all about, Ladybug?”

“Marinette.”

“Huh?”

“My name is Marinette,” she breathed, waiting for his reaction.

Chat’s mouth fell open, and he simply gaped at her. His eyes were blown wide with panic. Oh, no. Had this been a mistake? “M-Marinette? Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”

Smiling nervously, she shrugged. “That’s me.”

Suddenly, her partner burst into laughter. Marinette flushed with anger as he bent over cackling. “Chat? Chat! Stop!” Tears began to weld in her eyes. “Is it that hilarious that Marinette Dupain-Cheng could be Ladybug!?”

Catching his breath, he shook his head quickly. “No, no, no! It’s not that, my lady. It’s just the entire _principle_ of _everything_. Also, it’s so _obvious_ now! I feel so stupid! You’ve been right in front of me this entire time!” He leaned over to her, wiping a small tear off her cheek. “Don’t cry, my lady, please, don’t cry. It’s not you, I promise. I have something to tell you too.”

“Chat, you don’t have to tell me who you are just because I did. I just felt it was the right thing to do.”

He stared at her flatly. “Are you kidding me? I’ve been dying to tell you who am I! Don’t take that away from me. Also, this might be a little awkward, but don’t think anything of it, okay?”

Scrunching her nose in confusion, she nodded. “Okay…?”

Chat sucked his bottom lip between his teeth and chewed for a moment, obviously contemplating how to do this. “Well, I’m—I’m Adrien Agreste.”

Ladybug jolted back. “You are _not!_ ”

With a nervous grin, he nodded. “I’ll call off my transformation and prove it if you want, however, if I fall off the tower you’ll have to catch me.”

She didn’t respond. Still processing. Ladybug pointed at him. “You. You are Adrien Agreste.”

“Yes, I’m Adrien Agreste,” he repeated.

“You’re Adrien Agreste, and I basically just confessed my crush on you that I’ve had for over a year?” she squawked as her face flushed.

He smiled. “I guess, you did do that, didn’t you?”

She buried her face in her hands. “Oh, my god.”

“Okay, but there’s another guy too. Who is he? I’ll fight him.”

Ladybug let out a snort, and shot her head up to face him. “It’s you! I had a crush on Adrien, and recently I was starting to get a crush on Chat Noir! Congrats! You wooed me as both yourself and you alter ego!”

“I did? Well, I guess I’m not half bad for a guy who has never flirted with a girl before.”

“Yeah, yeah, tease all you want. You still have someone you’re crushing on too,” she mumbled miserably. Now that she knew they were the same person, she didn’t have a shot at either boy she liked! Because he liked someone else!

“Yeah, about that. It’s you.”

…What!?

She stared at him. “Huh?”

“You. It’s you. I fell in love with Ladybug, and I will admit that I’ve always thought you were cute as Marinette too, but I just already liked… well yourself,” he explained as he started up his nervous hair shaking habit again.

“So, you like me?”

“Correct.”

“And I like you?”

“You said you did, so I’m assuming that’s a yes?”

“So, then why aren’t you kissing me right now?”

“Good question.”

Yanking her towards him, Chat— _Adrien_ —pressed his lips to hers. She felt herself physically melt at the contact. This night turned out so much better than she had planned. He pulled away, touching his forehead to hers with a small smile. “You’re my heart, my love, my everything. I promise you that.”

“I believe you, Adrien,” she said with a shy smile against his lips. She reached up and cupped his cheeks in her hands. “I promise you, too.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -vomits because this one is obnoxious- 
> 
> Hey, it's 2:30! PROGRESS.


	13. Elation

Marinette’s eye cracked open as the sun peaked in through the blinds. She sighed contently at the feeling of strong arms wrapped around her and body pressed against her husband’s. Smiling to herself, she knew today was the day. She was going to tell Adrien today. She and her mother had been planning this for about a week now. Was she nervous? Of course. She didn’t know how he was going to take the news, nor did she know how well she would actually execute the plan.

With a lot of coaxing, Marinette had convinced Gabriel to host a party for Adrien’s birthday that year. At first, it was supposed to be just a simple party to make her husband feel special since he didn’t get parties from his father in the past. Now, it had turned into an entirely different ordeal.

She rolled over in his arms, taking in Adrien’s sleeping form. His breathing was slow and even, while his hair was tasseled and wild, much like when he was Chat Noir. Brushing his bangs out of his face, Marinette giggled as he nuzzled into her palm. Such a cat.

He peeped an eye open to see her, letting out a small chuckle with a smile. “Good morning, my lady.”

“Good morning, kitten,” she cooed as she ran her hands through his hair.

Adrien hummed, and his smile grew wider. “You’re in a good mood. You’re usually a grumpy bug in the mornings.”

Giggling, she scratched a sweet spot on his head, making him groan. “Yeah, well, today is a good day, remember? What kind of wife would I be if I was a grumpy bug on your birthday?”

He leaned forward and nosed at her cheek. “You’d be my everyday, ordinary Marinette. It’s weird seeing you so chipper before ten.”

“I’m just excited is all,” she chimed.

“You’re excited about _my_ birthday?” he asked with a snort.

She beamed. “Of course! You didn’t get to have parties when we were younger!”

“I still don’t know how you were able to convince my dad to throw a party at a ballroom of all places. I’m sure he’s invited designers and models, and other people I really don’t want to see.”

That earned him a laugh. “Well, don’t worry. I made sure that who I wanted got on the guest list. Plus, we put this together kind of quick. It might be too short notice for some people.”

His brow twitched. “Did you do that on purpose?”

Marinette hummed as she sat up in their bed, clad in one of his larger shirt and her pajama shorts. “Maybe, maybe not,” she sang as she stretched her arms. She turned back to him, leaning her weight on one arm. “So, how about it, birthday boy, want breakfast in bed?”

Snorting, his pushed himself up. “You spoil me too much.”

“I’m your wife. I get to do that if I want to.”

“Can’t we just stay in bed all day?” he grumbled as he stretched for her, only for her to quickly spring off the bed and tip-toe out of his reach.

“Nuh-uh. This is the one day out of the year that I have the right to spoil you as much as I want without you trying to do something in return, got it hot stuff?”

He flushed, as he did every time she called him that. “Y-Yeah, okay, fine.”

Grinning, Marinette puffed out her chest and strode out of the room in confidence. Operation: Make Adrien Agreste Feel Like The Luckiest Man In The World was a GO. It was going to start out with breakfast in bed, for sure. As Marinette started down the hallway, she felt herself get slightly woozy. Gripping the wall beside her, she panted as she held her head. Okay, maybe the operation would be a go after a quick trip to the bathroom.

o~o~o~o

Tikki hovered around Marinette as her chosen flipped blueberry pancakes over the stove. She flew and perched on her shoulder. “Are you sure you’re okay, Marinette?”

“I’m fine, Tikki. I’ve got this under control.”

The kwami started at her. “He’s going to find out if you keep pushing yourself, you know?”

“I’m telling him today. It’s going to work out.”

“Telling who what today?”

Both chosen and kwami jumped at the new voice. Marinette’s heart palpitated quickly, but thankfully, she recognized the voice wasn’t Adrien’s. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Plagg floating next to cabinets. How long has he been there? Sneaky little cat.

“It’s nothing, Plagg. Don’t worry about it,” Marinette chimed with a forced smile. She knew Plagg was too smart for this, but she didn’t want him to accidently… well, let the cat out of the bag.

Crossing his arms, Plagg glowered at her. “Uh-huh. Fine. Don’t tell me. I see you don’t trust me.”

With a sigh, Marinette shook her head as she spoke, “It’s not like that. I just don’t want Adrien finding out anything before I want him to. Okay?”

The cat kwami’s eyes widened. “There’s nothing wrong with you, is there?”

Marinette smiled at his concern. “No, there’s nothing wrong. I promise.”

Plagg floated over and perched on her other shoulder. “You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Okay… are you going to make any camembert pancakes for me?”

Marinette scrunched her nose that the thought, but instead said, “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Yessss!”

o~o~o~o

After breakfast in bed, followed by syrup flavored kisses, and a warm, cuddly bubble bath together, it was actually time for the pair to begin getting ready for Adrien’s party.

Marinette was a nervous _wreck_.

Scrambling and pacing in their room, she was _struggling_ to keep her cool. The plan was to tell him before the party, but oh, boy, was she freaking out. What if she completely fucked this up? What if he was upset? What if he wasn’t okay with this?

“Marinette, calm down, everything will be alright,” Tikki reassured.

Surging into her closet, she clambered through clothes trying to find the new dress she had bought just for today. It was pink with white polka-dots and flared out at the bottom. Getting into the dress caused her a bit of trouble, but thanks to Tikki, the dress was zipped without needed help from Adrien. She wanted the new dress to be a surprise as well. Deciding to keep her hair down, Marinette brushed it out in the mirror.

It was then she heard Adrien leave the bathroom beside their bedroom. She nearly squawked as she heard this footsteps go in the direction of the kitchen. Turning to her kwami, she spoke quickly. “Tikki! Don’t let him get those chocolates yet! I’m not ready!”

“On it!” her kwami chimed as she phased through the door. She knew Tikki could only stall Adrien so long. Her kitty had a habit of just staring into the refrigerator when he was bored. Marinette hurried up her pace, zipping into the bathroom to put her make-up on quickly.

“Hey, Marinette?” she heard Adrien’s voice call from the other room.

Hissing, she was hoping that he wasn’t about to ask what she thought he was. “Y-Yeah?”

Much to her surprise, he was closer than she realized when he opened the bathroom door. “Did you buy some—woah,” his question died on his tongue, thankfully. “Wow. That dress is gorgeous, Mar.”

She smiled lightly at him, before turning to the mirror to finish her mascara. “You think so?”  

“Yes,” Adrien slipped in the bathroom and wrapped his arms around her from behind, “definitely. I honestly expected you to go your sexy dress route. You know, the ones that end up _killing me_ throughout the night?”

Marinette finished her quick make-up job and turned around his arms. “Well, that would be a little inappropriate at a party thrown by your dad, wouldn’t it?”

He rolled his eyes. “Oh, yeah? What about the one at my father’s gala a few months ago? You had no problem with it then. I practically tore that thing off of you when we got home.”

Marinette popped her lips. “Yeah… about that…”

 Tilting his head to the side, he cocked a brow. “What is it?”

“Were you going to ask me about those chocolates?”

Blinking in realization, he gasped slightly. “Oh, yeah! I got distracted by your beauty, my lady,” he teased as he booped her on the nose. “Anyway, what are those for? Did you make them for the party?”

It was now or never. She didn’t want to keep him in the dark any longer. “Maybe, you should go open that box up?”

“What? Why?”

“I made them special for you. You should go look at them. I worked really hard. Please, for me?”

Bending down, he placed a quick kiss on her lips. “Of course, anything for you. I’m excited to see what you made for me,” he chimed as he detached himself from her to run into the kitchen.

“You made it too,” she mumbled knowingly to herself as she followed suit behind him.

Adrien reached into the fridge and pulled out the large, square tin. He slowly started lifting the lid and glanced up her. “Ready?”

“Quit drawing it out, you silly kitty.”

Sticking his tongue out at her, he smiled. “Okay.” Adrien removed the top and stared down at the chocolates. Mouth falling agape, his eyes darted between her and the chocolates. “A-Are you serious?”

Each chocolate had a letter on it spelling out: “You are going to be a daddy.”

Marinette nodded, biting her lip shyly, still unsure of his reaction. Slowly, Adrien’s mouth morphed into a surprised grin. “Are you _serious!?_ ” he squealed as he smacked a hand on the counter. His hands flew up into his hair as he processed the news. “Oh, my _God!_ Marinette! This is _amazing_! _You’re_ amazing! C’mere, you!” Adrien flew across the kitchen and scooped her up into a hug, lifting her off the floor. “This is the greatest birthday gift I could ever want!”

Giggling, Marinette smiled down him. “I’m glad you think so.”

Setting her down gently, Adrien cupped her cheeks and pulled her in for a searing kiss. “God, I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she said before being pulled back in for another kiss.

Adrien’s excitement was still bubbling. He spoke so quickly, “I can’t believe this. We’re having a _baby!_ We’re going to be _parents!_ This is one of the greatest days of my life!”

“I know, I’m so glad you’re happy about this.”

He cocked a brow. “You thought I wouldn’t be?”

“Well, you never know…” she murmured as she glanced away from him.

Adrien tucked two fingers under her chin, bringing her gaze back to him. “A family with you is more than I could ever want, Marinette. I mean that,” he pressed a soft, meaningful kiss to her lips. She felt it. His love, his excitement, all of it.

He pulled away a little breathless, but she could still see his curiosity. “So, how long have you known?”

“A few weeks.”

“Does anyone else know?”

“Besides Tikki?” she asked with a laugh. “Yeah, our parents know.”

Squinting at her, he nodded. “Ahhh, _that’s_ how you got my dad to agree to a last minute party. You used the ‘you’re gonna be a granddad’ card. Nicely done.”

“We made a deal that you and I would announce it at the party, but I still wanted it to be a birthday surprise for you. I figured that you wouldn’t be able to keep it in long anyway,” Marinette smirked.

Adrien bounced giddily. “Like hell I’m keeping this in! I’m too excited to not tell _every living being_ I see! I’ll scream it from the rooftops! Watch me!”

“How about you wait until you’re Chat Noir to shout it from the rooftops.”

“Deal!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 12:45!! LOOK AT ME GO. 
> 
> Okay, so I actually really want to write more of this one, but I decided to stop it here. I might add it as a bonus at the end of the month?


	14. Telling the Truth

Ladybug knows Adrien is Chat Noir. He knows that she knows he’s Chat Noir. She knows that he knows that she— _anyway_. She found him out by accidently seeing him release his transform behind the school one day, right after she had done the same herself. It wasn’t that Marinette had ever really wanted to know who Chat Noir was, but knowing it was Adrien made her life much easier. She hadn’t meant to clue him in that she knew the truth of his identity, but Nino had Adrien trapped one day, and he couldn’t seem to get away until Ladybug intervened. Granted, if she hadn’t said “go, I’ll wait for you, I need you,” he might have not understood _why_ she had rescued him from Nino’s vice grip. The damage was done though. And not another word of it had been said since.

Until today.

The two of them sat together at the top of the Notre Dame, neither speaking a word. Twiddling her thumbs nervously, Ladybug wanted to use all of her power to speak up, but she couldn’t. He was probably furious with her. He had detransformed right in front of her so that they could hide from the akuma. She knew that was the safest plan… but she couldn’t do it. Marinette couldn’t bring herself to show him who she was. The look of heartbreak he had. The look of betrayal. It was forever embedded in her mind.

She had said they’d talk about it later. And yet, here they were… not saying a word.

The longer they sat here, the more guilt she could feel bubbling within her stomach. God, Adrien didn’t deserve this. He deserved a much better partner than her. One that was wasn’t a coward.

“I…” he broke the silence first, making Ladybug pop her head up. His cat ears were drooping against his blonde hair as he gazed out across the city. Chat’s normally frisky tail, sagged against the pillar he sat on. Ladybug couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen him look so utterly _sad_. “I-I’m sorry, for today. I shouldn’t have pushed you like that. You don’t want to tell me, so you don’t have to…”

Hugging her knees to her chest, Ladybug let out a sigh. “No, I’m sorry. You have every right to be furious with me. I’m the worst.”

Chat let out a scoff beside her. “No, you’re not. You just like your privacy, and I should respect that. I mean, you didn’t find out who I was on purpose, did you?” he paused for a moment before turning to her. “ _Did_ you?”

She shook her head quickly. “No, no. Nothing like that. I just saw you detransform one day by accident, that’s all. I didn’t mean to see anything.”

“See,” he said with an obviously plastered smile. “You didn’t do anything on purpose, so it’s not—“

“Adrien, stop.”

Frozen, he blinked in shock. She couldn’t blame him. She’d never actually used his real name since she had found out. “I’m—I’m not as great as you think I am. I’m not hiding my identity from you because I like my privacy. It’s just… I don’t know…” She did know. But she couldn’t bring herself to admit anything.

“ _Oh,_ ” Chat paused, his claws clenching, “do you—do you just not _trust_ me?”

Her eyes widening, Ladybug shook her head quickly. “No! That’s not it at all!”

“Then what is it, Ladybug? What did I _do_!?”

“Nothing!”

“Then what--!?”

“It’s _me_ , okay!?” she screeched as she jumped her feet, stunning both herself and her crime fighting partner beside her. Huffing out a breath, she continued, “I’m the reason. It’s nothing you’ve done. I’m just scared.”

“Scared of what?” Chat asked gently as he pushed himself to stand.

“ _You,”_ Ladybug squawked as she thrusted a hand out to gesture at him. Quickly realizing what she said, she back pedaled. “Wait. No. Not you. I-I don’t know!”

Rushing his hands through his hair, Chat gripped the sides of his head. “You’re talking in circles, Ladybug! Is it my fault or is it not!?”

She licked her lips nervously, and her eyes darted everywhere but on him. Finally, she sighed. She had to tell him. The truth was bound to come out eventually. Might as well be now. “Because… I’m scared you’re going to be disappointed when you find out who I am! I don’t measure up to who I am with this mask on! My civilian self is clumsy, messy, and scatter-brained all the time!”

Chat’s brow furrowed. “You think that I’ll be disappointed?”

Hugging her arms to her chest, she turned from him. “I don’t know. What if I’m not good enough?”

He let out a chuckle. “You’re more than enough. I promise you.” Chat approached her slowly before tucking to fingers under her chin, lifting her face up to see him. “The masks don’t change who we are, my lady.”

Fighting back tears, she huffed at him. How could he say that of all people? “Really? I don’t see Adrien Agreste making puns and flirting with girls all the time.”

He barked a laugh. “True, but my father would absolutely kill me if I were to do any of that. And for the record, I only flirt with you.”

Well, she couldn’t really argue with the fact that Adrien’s father was strict. She had her that whole spiel from Nino. But… “You flirted with Marinette.”

He flushed a little. “Okay, maybe once. But I can’t figure Marinette out. I was—um—testing the waters with her. She gets so shy around me, but she talked to Chat Noir just fine. Well, now that I think about it... she's spoken to me a lot more lately. But, other than that one instance, you're the only one." 

Cocking a brow under her mask, Ladybug’s lips twitched into a smirk. “Oh, really?”

Chat nodded. “Yes, really. How’d you know I flirted with Marinette anyway?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“I would, actually.”

Okay. She was going to do it. Tell him the truth. Tell him everything. Right. Now. Chewing on her lip for a moment, her eyes brightened when she got an idea. “Okay. I’ll tell you. But, you have to close your eyes first?”

Tilting his head, he scrunched his nose. “What?”

“Do you trust me, or not?”

“One hundred percent, my lady.”

“Okay, so close your eyes.”

He sighed in defeat and closed his eyes. Ladybug murmured to her kwami, and as the pink glow began to engulf her, she pressed her lips to Chat’s. He stiffened instantly. Oh, no. Was this a mistake? As she was about to pull away, a gloved hand grabbed the back of her head, pulling her back in. She squeaked a little as Chat—Adrien—kissed her back enthusiastically. Maybe, he liked her as much as she liked him? Now, that would be something.

As much as she didn’t want to, her source of oxygen was depleting and she needed to catch her breath, so she pulled away from him. His eyes drifted open in a daze. Her kitty was kiss drunk apparently. Blinking his eyes, Chat regained focus, only to see it was no longer Ladybug standing there.

“M-Mar-Marinette?”

She hunched her shoulders before giving a small waggle of her fingers as a hesitant wave. “Hi, Adrien.”

Letting out a surprised sigh, his eyes fluttered while he gathered his wits. “Wow, it’s you,” Chat said as he gestured to her. It worried her, however, when his elated smile suddenly vanished, turning into a frown. “You really thought that I wouldn’t be happy that you were Ladybug?”

“Like you said, Marinette is shy around you and can’t form sentences around you without foaming at the mouth like a zombie.”

Chat gave a snort. “I don’t recall saying _all_ of that.”

“Well, still. You get the point.”

His lips twitched, expression turning a bit more bemused. Chat placed a hand on his hip and pointed at her with a clawed hand. “You like me… _That’s_ why you’re so shy. Ohhhh!! And then when you found out I was Chat Noir, that’s when you and Alya started hanging out with us more! I _knew_ there was something suspicious going on! You were like a switch! One day, you couldn’t talk to me then the next you were pushing my nose away like any other day. How did I _not_ figure this out?”

“I-I never said I liked you,” she said with a flush.

Chat instantly gave her an “are you kidding me” look. “Marinette, you literally just kissed me,” he told her flatly.

“Friends kiss!” she squeaked.

Wrapping an arm around her, he yanked her to him. “Do they now? Well, we should do it more often.”

She batted him on the chest. “Adrien!”

“In his defense, Marinette, friends also don’t keep magazine clippings of their friends all around their room.”

Both of them jolted their heads towards the new voice. The red kwami smiling happily at the pair.

Marinette gawked at Tikki who had apparently decided now was a good time to jump in. “Tikki!” Her kwami simply giggled at her dispense. “This isn’t the time,” she grumbled. Betrayal. Her kwami was a complete _traitor._ She was getting raisin cookies tonight. That was it.

Chat’s eyes brightened, and he turned back to her. “You have magazine clippings of me, Bugaboo?”

“Noooo!!” Marinette buried her hands into her face against his chest, her head resting under his chin.

“My computer is covered in Ladybug pictures, if that makes you feel better.”

Peaking up at him, she cocked a curious brow. “What?”

“Yeah, don’t you know? Ladybug and I… we’re a thing?”

She pulled back slightly, a small smile flashing across her features. “Oh, are you now?”

“If you want us to be… but… I wouldn’t mind. I mean, dating Ladybug would mean dating Marinette, and from what I’ve seen—I think Marinette Dupain-Cheng is the most amazing girl I’ve ever met in my life. Not to mention she’s pretty cute too.”

Grabbing him by the bell, she drew him back in for another kiss. For her, that was answer enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -slowly sinking lower into love square hell-  
> ...This is fine.


	15. Sunshower

Marinette sketched in her drawing pad as she sat comfortably under the canopy of a tree in the park with Adrien sleeping soundly against her shoulder. The soft breathing next to her was soothing as their two kwamis laid curled up in her lap napping as well. She never minded becoming the universal pillow since she and Adrien had become a couple. He told her she was just soft and comfy, so she took that as a compliment.

Adrien let out a continent sigh in his slumber (she had noticed his frequency to talk in his sleep) and nuzzled closer to her. Letting out a laugh, she shook her head and placed a small kiss to his crown. He was so cute. The breeze picked up slightly, and Marinette found the gentle wind comforting.

Drip.

Blinking in surprise, Marinette saw a splat of water on the corner of her paper. She closed her sketch pad quickly, to save her drawing from anymore wetness that may appear.

Drip.

Another drop fell, but this time landing right on Adrien’s nose. His face scrunched at the feeling, and his hand came up to touch the wet spot. “Did… Did you lick me or something?” he grumbled.

Snorting out a laugh, Marinette shook her head. “No. It must be some rain.”

He glanced around, cocking a curious brow. “That’s weird. The sun is still out though.”

“Well, you know what happens when there’s sun and rain at the same time?”

Their kwamis began to stir during their conversation, looking up at their chosens with bemused smiles, though Plagg was still a bit grumpy from being awakened.

“Umm… the sun dries up the rain quicker?”

“No,” she said flatly while flicking him on the forehead, much to Adrien’s distress. Ignoring his pout as he rubbed the sore spot, she continued, “You get a rainbow, silly kitty.”

Adrien clicked his tongue. “Oh, right. I knew that.”

“Sure…”

“What if it’s a double rainbow,” he said with a mock gasp. Adrien spread his hands, waving them wide in a grand gesture towards the sky as more raindrops began falling. “What does it meaaann~”

Wow. He was such a dork. Good thing she loved him. Marinette scoffed. “That joke is so old.” Standing, she dusted the dirt off her pants, reaching out to take his hand. “Ready to go?”  Their kwamis came to a float beside her, looking to Adrien for his answer.

If he had his Chat ears, they would have drooped with his puppy dog (or maybe, kitten?) expression. “We’re leaving?”

She laughed as if it were obvious. “Well, yeah, Adrien. It’s starting to rain? Or have you been ignoring how wet your shoes have been getting?”

“But, I haven’t seen the rainbow yet,” he mumbled as his brows furrowed. Taking her hand, she helped him to a stand, though he was still sporting his stubborn pout.

Marinette sighed propping her hand on her hip. “You take in all the little things, don’t you?”

He laughed at that. “Of course, my lady. I’ve been cooped up in a mansion most of my life, why wouldn’t I want to experience everything?”

As the sun shined and rained poured around them, Marinette looked to the sky, smiling slightly. Turning back to him, she held her hand out again, to which he gave her a curious tilt of his head. “Ever played in the rain before, chaton?”

Adrien’s lips gave a small twitch. “Can’t say I have.”

“Want to start now?”

He took her hand with a grin, intertwining her fingers with his. “With you? Any day.”

Adrien spun them so he was in front of her, dragging her out into the pouring rain away from the canopy of the tree. He looked up and stuck out his tongue, making Marinette laugh a loud. “You don’t do that with rain, you catch snowflakes not raindrops!”

He blew a raspberry at her. “Who says? Did someone make it a rule? Maybe, I wanted to taste the rain?”

“Oh, yeah? How did it taste?”

Beaming, he grabbed her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Not as sweet as you,” he cooed and placed a small peck on her lips before quickly releasing her and fleeing in the opposite direction in the park.

Marinette’s face flushed as she gaped at his fleeting form. He was such a _flirt!_ She bolted after him. “Adrien!” He wasn’t getting away that easily. Not like that! Oh, no, no, _no!_

Spinning on his heel to face her, she saw him standing in a small, newly formed puddle. Was that supposed to deter her from getting that kiss back? Nope. She wiped her soaked bangs from her face, and gestured to his feet. “Your dad is going to kill you for ruining those Gabriel brand shoes.”

Adrien gave a shrug. “Worth it. It’s not like I don’t have more.” He bounced in the puddle, splashing Marinette’s own shoes.

“Hey!”

He flopped his wet bangs on top of his head, making them stick there. Why did he actually look kind of cute like that? Wait. No! She was mad at him! “You’re wearing open shoes, Marinette, don’t act like your feet weren’t already wet.”

“I didn’t ask for you to speed up the process!” Adrien kicked the water at her, making her gasp and jolt away. “You’re such a turd!”

“But I’m _your_ turd, my lady!”

Sighing, Marinette mustered her Ladybug confidence for her next move. This little game of cat and bug was over. Knowing what she had to do, she quickly formulated her plan. Sauntering towards him, Adrien raised a brow at the way she was swaying towards him. Giving a smile, one that he knew was dangerous, she ran a hand through his sloppy hair. “You know… there is one thing I’ve always wanted to do.”

“And what’s that?” he asked, unable to hide the squeak in his voice as she put him under her spell.

“You’ve seen in it the movies, right? Kissing in the rain? That’s romantic, isn’t it?” she chimed as she brushed a finger down his cheek. She had him. She knew she did as his eyes watched her finger slowly drag down to his chin.

“Mhmm…”

Marinette grinned as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. See, if he tried to kiss and run again after this! Ha! Feeling his arms wound back around her waist, she sighed and smiled against his lips. Kissing Adrien was electric, and the rain picked up the static even more.

Unbeknownst to the happy couple, their kwamis still sat under the canopy of the tree, avoiding the raindrops that fell. Plagg shook his head. “They forget we’re here half the time, don’t they?”

Tikki gave a giggle and a smile as she watched her Ladybug sway in the rain and be kissed by the boy of her dream. “That’s okay, they’re in love, Plagg. That’s what matters most.”

“I wish they didn’t have to be so goo-goo all the time, though,” he grumbled.

Tikki bopped him lightly on the head. “Don’t be such a cynic, you know you like it when your kittens fall in love with my bugs every time.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah.”

Suddenly, he was startled when Tikki let out a gasp. “Look, Plagg!”

The red kwami gestured to the sky above their chosens where a rainbow glinted high across the clouds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this one is really short and didn't turn out the way I wanted.


	16. Flowers

Adrien had never seen as many flowers as he did on Marinette’s terrace the one day he went up there with all of his friends in tow. He was amazed at the display of different plants, and honestly, he was impressed that someone could keep this many flowers alive at one time. Whenever he tried to help his mother in the garden, it seemed like everything he touched died in an instant. And that was _before_ he had a ring of destruction.

Smiling at his friend, Adrien chimed, “I didn’t know you grew flowers, Marinette.”

Alya placed a hand on her hip and nodded. “Yeah, girl, since when do you have these many plants?”

Marinette hummed shyly with a shrug. “It’s a… recent development.”

So, after that, he started delivering flowers to the terrace at night as Chat Noir. Marinette had always been so kind to him, and always did things for him, so this was his way of returning the favor. He only stuck around the first time to catch her reaction. She heard him, and came creeping out of her room with a golf club in hand, ready to swing. It had taken everything in him to not cackle out loud. If he had, she might have seen him on her roof and taken a whack at him.

After seeing the new arrivals, she gasped aloud. A sound that was so sweet to him. Prancing over to the flower pot, she took the flowers in her hands and gently stroked the petals. Marinette glanced around, a small smile on her face. She had to have known it was him. Who else could deliver flowers to a rooftop? Unless Ladybug made a habit of giving away flowers as well.

Much to his surprise, she actually told them all about the incident the next day.

“I think Chat Noir left flowers on my terrace.”

Alya blinked at her in surprise, glancing at the two males to gauge their reactions. Adrien let his eyebrows shoot up, to give the illusion of shock, while Nino’s jaw just dropped. Reaching a hand to Marinette’s shoulder, Alya cocked her head. “Girl, are you sure? Chat Noir?”

“Who else could it be? Who else could get on top of my house at night and put flowers up there?” Marinette argued.

“Woah, Marinette, do you think Chat Noir has a thing for you?” Nino asked.

Marinette’s face immediately flushed. Wait, wait, wait! That hadn’t been his intensions at all! He just wanted to pay back a friend for her kindness. It wasn’t because he liked her or anything… even though… Marinette _was_ kind of cute…

Adrien ruffled the back of his hair nervously. “Ahhhh, I don’t think that’s a conclusion you can draw from that Nino. They were just flowers.”

 There was a glint in Alya’s eye as she stared at him. “Oh, really? Just flowers? Are you jealous, Adrien?”

His eyes fluttered quickly as he reared back. “W-What? Jealous of what?”

“Alya,” Marinette hissed in a sharp grumble.

“Jealous of Chat Noir giving Marinette flowers. Flowers are a romantic gesture, aren’t they?” Alya teased.

Raising his hands in defense, Adrien gave a dry chuckle. “I’m not jealous. I don’t think it was romantic, I think it was just friendly. Don’t you? Besides, Marinette and I are friends, she doesn’t want anything like that from me?”

He saw Marinette visibly wilt. What had he said? Had she wanted Chat Noir to be romantic with her? When Marinette had helped him with Evillistrator, she had said Chat Noir was awesome… maybe she had gotten a crush on him from that? Trying to backpedal, he continued. “U-Uh, if it were romantic he would bring her roses, right? Aren’t roses like the love flower or something?”

Nino gave a nod. “Yeah, Marinette. Chat Noir probably saw all of your flowers and decided to add them to the bunch.”

Giving a shrug, Marinette sighed. “I guess.”

Adrien knew he fucked up somewhere in that conversation, but where? Now, that he couldn’t figure out.

o~o~o~o

Despite what had happened that first day he left flowers, watching the glee on Marinette’s face was too much to resist. He simply couldn’t help it. The more flowers in her collection, the happier Marinette would be right?

Except for the one night he was sloppy in his delivery. Or rather… maybe she had been waiting for him to arrive.

“I knew it was you,” a voice stated behind him, causing him to nearly jump out of his skin.

Spinning on his heel, he turned to face her. “H-Hi, Marinette?”

She crossed her arms, cocking her hip to the side. “How come you keep leaving flowers?”

“Because you’re nice,” he said dumbly.

Marinette blinked plainly at him. “You, Chat Noir, have been sneaking onto my roof to give me flowers because I’m nice? That’s all?”

Chat rubbed his neck nervously. “Yeah, that’s basically it.”

“Well, you can stop. My friends are getting the wrong idea.”

Tilting his head, he cocked a brow. “What do you mean?”

She pinched the bridge of her nose. “My friends think that you have a crush on me, and that you’re trying to woo me.”

Chat gave a snort. “What? I haven’t even brought you roses, princess.” Marinette’s expression changed in an instant at those words. Her brows furrowed, and her eyes began to study him. Glancing around nervously, he flinched at the sudden intense stare. “Um, Marinette? Did I say something wrong?”

Snapping out of her thoughts, she shook her head and waved her hand in a warding gesture. “No, it’s nothing. Thanks for all the flowers, Chat, but really, no more, okay?”

He rubbed his arm awkwardly as his ears drooped. “Okay…”

Quickly, she approached him, a wide smile on her face. Cupping his cheek, she bent down to meet his sad eyes. “Don’t look so upset, chaton, I’m not mad. I just think that those flowers should go to the girl you like, rather than a stranger, hm? I appreciate them. Thank you for extending my foliage collection, really.”

Chat’s ears perked up slightly. “Really?”

Pulling her hand back, she hugged her arms to herself. “It was a friendly gesture. I think it was kind of you.”

He bowed at the waist. “Only the best for a kind princess, such as yourself.” Giving a two fingered salute, he grinned as he hopped off her balcony.

…Wait, a second. What had she called him?

o~o~o~o

In retrospect, realizing that Marinette was Ladybug should not have rocked his world the way it had. Plagg was annoyed by his constant pacing through his room. Adrien was more shocked that he hadn’t realized it before this.

Of _course_ , she liked flowers! It was the ladybug tendencies, just like he had cat tendencies! No wonder she had been mesmerized every time he brought a new type of flower! He was dumb. So dumb.

That also meant he was madly in love with Marinette. Somehow… he didn’t have a problem with that at all. Who _wouldn’t_ be in love with Marinette? Oh, wait. A dumbass who was blinded by her alter ego such as himself, but he could fix that!

A few days went by as he just watched her. Seeing all of the Ladybug qualities in Marinette made everything so much clearer. And made him see how much of an idiot he was. She didn’t think he liked her as Adrien or Chat Noir because he opened his fat mouth. He was going to make this up to her. Big time.

Hopping down onto her terrace, he had to think this through rationally.

“Chat?” her voice had called down from her trap door.

…Or panic and transform back into Adrien with no plan at all. That worked too. He kept his present hidden behind his back as Marinette peaked her head up from inside. “Chat? Is that—woah, A-Adrien?”

He smiled awkwardly. “Um, hi.”

Marinette simply gaped at him for a moment. Looking him up and down in disbelief. “It _is_ you!”

“You knew?”

“I had a suspicion after I told you to quit bringing flowers a few days ago, which I see now you had no intensions on stopping?” she asked with a tilt of her head.

Keeping one hand behind his back, he scratched his neck with the other. “That’s not exactly it… I’m sorry that I made you think I didn’t like you. I do! A lot! As Marinette and Ladybug! I just thought that you didn’t like me, and I was blinded by my love for Ladybug that I didn’t see what was right in front of me, and…” he pulled a bouquet of red roses out from behind him, “I hope you’ll forgive me.”

Marinette’s face flushed, a hand slapping over her mouth in surprise. “Adrien…”

He made his way over to her. “I’m sorry, my lady. I’m really sorry.” Adrien leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers.

She gazed up, her bluebell eyes boring into his. “Okay. I forgive you, you silly kitty. I’m sorry I rejected you so much for your civilian self.”

He snorted. “Hey, it works out, doesn’t it?” Taking her hand, he wrapped her fingers around the flowers. “Now, this… This one is supposed to be a romantic gesture.”

“How chivalrous,” she chimed with a giggle. “Do I get to keep the prince that comes with them?”

Smiling, Adrien gave a nod. “Of course,” he leaned in. “Do I get true love’s kiss?”

She eyed him teasingly. “But I’m not under a spell.”

“But I’m under yours.”

Cupping his cheeks, she pulled him in and pressed her lips to his. Maybe for once, he actually had given the right answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't really get a clear idea for this one... so it's kinda just a bunch of jumbled scenes together. I'm ready for tomorrow's though! It's AU, which I'm a sucker for, so it's probably going to be a long one tomorrow. I'm ready.


	17. AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, what's this? A Descendants AU that no one asked for? Well, alright!! 
> 
> (I also flipped the genders. You'll see when you read it.)

The four new students stepped out of the limousine, staring out at their new school in awe and smidge of disgust. It just _looked_ like a preppy kids’ school. How obnoxious.

There waiting was a girl with raven hair, pulled back into two pigtails and a tiara placed perfectly on top of her head. Oh, he knew who she was. They were definitely not on the Isle anymore. Adrien was the first to step out of the car, Alya, Nathaniel, and Mylene followed after him. The princess smiled at them with a curtsy. Gross.

She extended her hand out to him first. “Hi, I’m Marinette, princess of Auradon. And you?”

Adrien took her hand, cocking a brow as he did so. “You don’t expect me to kiss your hand, do you?”

The princess—Marinette—laughed at him. “No, I don’t expect you to. I’m not here for formalities, I’m just trying to be a good host.”

Smirking a little, he eyed her. “Oh? Well, I’m Adrien Agreste,” he stated as shook her hand, a little more aggressive than he had intended. He may have thought this whole thing was stupid, but he wasn’t going to purposely rough up the princess. She was actually kind of cute… not that he’d admit that out loud… _ever._

Her mouth opened slightly at the sound of his last name, giving a curt, but obviously uncomfortable, nod. “So, the son of Gabriel Agreste, huh?”

“Otherwise known as Hawkmoth? Yeah, that’s him,” Adrien stated flatly.

Marinette gave him a stiff smile, before turning her attention to the other villain kids. “And you?”

Alya placed a hand on her hip, “Alya Cesaire,” she said shaking the princess’ hand. There was a glint between the two of them, he noticed. Adrien glanced between the two girls who smiled at each other. What was that all about?

As Mylene and Nathaniel introduced themselves, Adrien already found himself growing bored with the situation. Honestly, he kinda wanted the princess’ attention back to himself. Which was odd… He’d never felt like that before. Adrien could help but feel a twinge of jealously when Marinette shook Nathaniel’s hand, and he looked simply in awe of her.

_Nope. Stop it, Adrien. You didn’t come here for this. You’re here for the Miraculous. That’s what you’re here for._

The princess clasped her hands together cheerfully. “Well, now I think it’s time that you are shown your rooms. I have some matters to take care of, but I’ll be there to check on you all soon. Nino will be the one to tell you your room numbers, alright? He’s just inside that door.”

Marinette waved them goodbye as the four of them enter Auradon Prep. There is a boy with glasses standing there waiting on them to enter. He seemed pretty nervous. Good. He should be.

The guy grinned nervously at them. “H-Hello. I’m Nino. Welcome to Auradon.”

Waving him off, Adrien rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Can we just have the keys to our rooms?”

Nino seemed taken aback for a second, but handed them the keys and pointed up the left staircase. “Your rooms are 304 and 305.”

Alya snorted. “Oh, keeping us near each other in check, huh?”

He held his hands up in defense. “I-I didn’t…”

“Calm down, four eyes. It was a joke,” Alya said with a snort and flicked a finger to his chest.

Glancing around hesitantly, he nodded. “R-Right.”

Adrien motioned up the stairs with his head. “Let’s go. We’ll see you around…Nino, was it?”

“Yeah, that’s me! If you have any questions, let me know. If I can do anything to make you more comfortable, I’ll do the best I can.”

With a smarmy smirk, Adrien’s brow twitched. “I guess we’ll see about that, won’t we?”

o~o~o~o

Adrien and Nathaniel both walked into their room. Eyeing the bed, the mattress was much bigger than one he had slept on before. Maybe, the dorm rooms weren’t so bad, besides how— _fancy_ they looked.

“Can you believe we’re stuck in this hell hole for a few weeks?” Adrien murmured as he plopped down on the mattress.

“With as much eye fucking as you’ve done to that bed in the last five minutes, I’d say you’re not actually complaining too much,” he responded with a snort as he sat on the bed opposite of Adrien’s.

Running a hand through his hair, Adrien groaned. “Whatever. The sooner we get the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses the better. That way we can impress our parents and blow this popsicle stand.”

Nathaniel opened his sketch pad and began drawing a bit. “Can I at least get a girlfriend while I’m here? Girls on the Isle don’t even glance at me.”

Sitting up, Adrien leaned his weight back on his palms. “You think you’re going to get one here? We’re villain kids, Nath. We don’t fit in here. Everyone is going to be afraid of us.”

“Maybe, girls are into the bad boys,” he said with a shrug.

He stared at him flatly. “Nathaniel. You? A bad boy? Give me a break.”

“They don’t have to _know_ that!”

o~o~o~o

“ _What?_ Seriously? You have a class with the princess? That’s crazy!” Mylene cried as she gaped at Alya.

Alya gave a shrug. “And? What’s the big deal?”

Crossing his arms, Adrien rubbed his chin while he hummed in thought. “That means you can find out where the Miraculouses are.”

She cocked her hip as she glowered at him. “Do you honestly think that Marinette would trust a villian’s kid enough to tell me where they have the Miraculouses hidden? Hell, no. She’s sweet, not stupid.”

“You could just get close to her,” Mylene chirped.

Wagging a finger at Mylene, Adrien nodded. “Yeah, she’s right. Get Marinette to trust you?”

Alya flopped her head back with a groan. “Why am I always the one with the dirty jobs? Adrien, you’re the one who desperately wants to impress your father,” she griped while gesturing an arm at him. “Why don’t you get off your ass and do something?”

Adrien barked out a laugh. Was she crazy!? He placed his hands on his chest, pointing at himself. “ _I_ am the son of Hawkmoth. The guy that tried to _take over the world._ Like hell, would Marinette ever trust me.”

Nathaniel hummed. “It’s not like you really tried. But, maybe, I could try to catch her interest?”

“ _No,”_ Adrien snapped, his pupils narrowing into slits for a moment. What the hell! No _way_ was he going to sit here and watch the artist try to woo the princess. Disgusting.

Nathaniel held his hands up in defense. “Okay, yeesh. The princess is cute, okay? I was just trying to be a help.”

Mylene and Alya shared a brief glance, a smirk making its way on the latter’s lips. “Adrien, was that _jealousy_ I just detected?”

What? Of course, not. He scoffed with a roll of his eyes. “No. Why would I care? I just don’t want to watch Nathaniel try to flirt.”

Alya clicked her tongue, a knowing glance directed his way. “Uh huh. Sure, pretty boy.” She paused and contemplated for a moment. “You know what? I’ll do it. I’ll find out where the Miraculouses are, okay? If it means I don’t have to watch poor mothy boy over here try to come up with excuses anymore.”

Face twitching, Adrien glared at her. “That’s enough of that, Alya.”

Alya and Mylene both hummed in a mocking tone, before exiting the boys’ dorm room. The pair sat in an awkward silence as Adrien then glanced up at Nathaniel. “I’m not jealous.”

“I didn’t say anything,” Nathaniel snipped back quickly with his eyes bulging.

Harrumphing, the blond picked up one of his school books, opened it, dropped it on his face, and proceeded to scream into it.

o~o~o~o

Nino flinched as Alya blew another bubble and popped loudly. Glancing over at her, he arched a brow. He leaned over to her and whispered, “You know, you’re not supposed to have gum in the science lab.”

She glanced at him sideways and popped it again between her teeth. “Oh, really? Why’s that?” she asked blowing another bubble with a smirk.

“Well, it could get stuck to something, or have a chemical reaction,” he explained, fiddling with his headphones nervously.

“My gum could blow something up? Now, that’s something I’d like to see,” Alya retorted with a snort.

Scratching idly at his forehead, Nino glanced down at his school work. “I’d rather not, honestly.” Alya twirled her gum around her finger, stretching it and smacking as she eyed his reaction with a grin. Nino just stared at her. “You’re doing this to annoy me, aren’t you?”

Cackling, she ran a hand through her hair. “What was your first clue, four eyes?”

“You really can’t call me that when you have glasses to,” he pointed out.

“Oh, really? What are you? The nickname police?”

“For a villian’s kid, that comeback was pretty weak.”

Gripping him by the shirt, Alya squinted at him. “Now, you listen here—“

“Heyyyy, how’s everything going over here?” a new voice sang.

The pair jerked their heads to see Princess Marinette standing in front of their desks. Alya quickly released his shirt and looked away. “It’s fine.”

Marinette clasped her hands in front of her with a smile. “Good! Oh—um, you’re not really supposed to have gum in class, Alya, I’m sorry. It’s just for safety reasons.”

Putting on her best smile and cheer, Alya took the gum out of her mouth. “Oh, of course. My bad,” she chucked into the trash can next to her.

Nino’s jaw fell open.

Alya’s lips twitched, hiding her smile as she shrugged giving him a “what?” gesture.

“So,” Marinette pulled and extra stool up to their lab and took a seat, “Alya, how are things going. Are you and the others getting adjusted?”

With an over exaggerated grin, Alya nodded. “Oh, yes. Things are going quite well. And,” she lowered her voice, “between you and me, I think Adrien has a little crush on you.” He was going to kill her. She knew that. But, this was too much fun to resist.

Especially when the princess flushed and reared back, almost falling out of her chair. “O-Oh! Um! I’m flattered, really!” one of her hands flew up to fiddle with one of her pigtails. “I-I don’t know if a boy has ever like— _liked_ me before. That’s, um, new.” Marinette quickly hopped out of the seat. “Well! It was nice talking to you Alya! But I should really get going! Princess stuff to do, ahahaa…”

Alya’s brows furrowed. She was supposed to get to know the princess and gain her trust. This was the perfect opportunity to do that. “But, wait, you just got here.”

Chewing on her lip, Marinette glanced down at Alya’s notebook. Quickly, she snatched Nino’s pencil from his hand and wrote a phone number down on the corner of her paper. “There, my cell number. Text me, call me, uh, anything, if you need me. I’ll be around. See you, Alya. See you, Nino.”

And with that, the princess fled the science lab in a flustered mess.

Now, _that_ was interesting.

Nino grimaced as he watched her retreat. “You really shouldn’t bring up boys to Marinette. It’s a touchy subject.”

Alya tilted her head with confusion. “What do you mean?”

As he began copying down more problems from the white board, he spoke, “Well, at the coronation, it’s traditional that the Ladybug earrings are bestowed upon the princess and the Black Cat ring is bestowed upon her boyfriend, or vice versa depending on the gender of the heir. Basically, it’s the engagement, before the engagement, before the engagement. The problem is, well, Marinette’s never had a boyfriend.”

She nearly choked as she blinked at him. “She’s the princess of Auradon, _no one_ has ever dated her?”

Nino gave a half shrug. “She’s talked to a few, but never really committed to anyone. We’re kinda close, she basically explained to me that none of them felt right.”

“Oh, really?” Alya murmured darkly more to herself than Nino.

She couldn’t resist the twisted grin that spread across her face.

o~o~o~o

Alya busted open the door to the dorm, to find Mylene, Adrien, and Nathaniel already sitting in the room together. Closing the door behind her, she smirked as she winked at them. “Guess who knows how to get the Miraculouses.”

Adrien jumped from his seat at the desk. “What? Really? How’d you get Marinette to trust you that fast?”

“Wasn’t Marinette,” she replied with a shake of her head. “It was Nino. The kid with the glasses and headphones. He told me that the Miraculouses will be presented to Marinette and her boyfriend slash date, whatever at the coronation. That’s how we can get them!”

Mylene furrowed her brow. “How? Snatch them before they can put them on?”

Alya waggled her finger. “Not exactly. Guess who doesn’t have a date?”

“Marinette doesn’t have a date?” Nathaniel asked with curiosity.

She clicked her tongue, pointing at him. “Bingo. Nino said Marinette’s never really been interested in anybody. So, she’s basically scrambling to find someone right now. And, when I mentioned Adrien to her she went completely red and ran away.”

Adrien’s brows shot up. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope!” she responded with a pop of the ‘p.’

Mylene nudged his leg from her seat on the floor. “Look at you, pretty boy, wooing a princess.”

He scratched his head in thought. “Yeah, but, still. I don’t know if Marinette would actually go out with me because of who I am…” Wait… An idea popped into his head. “My dad’s manipulation spell. I bet I can do it.”

Nathaniel grimaced. “Mind controlling her? Isn’t that a little harsh?”

Rolling his eyes, Adrien glowered at him. “You got another plan, tomato head? We’re villains. Is there anything out of our moral code?”

Nathaniel still looked uneasy. “Are… Are we sure that this is what we want to do? I mean, our parents—“

“Are expecting us to pull this off,” Adrien interrupted. “If we don’t, who knows what they’ll do to us. Especially mine. We have to do this because we’re rotten…”

“…to the core.” They all chorused in agreement.

o~o~o~o

Adrien closed his locker, admiring his spray paint work of his father’s symbol on the door. He nearly jumped out of his skin seeing someone standing there behind it. She was blonde with blue eyes, heavy with eyeshadow.

“Hi~” she sang with a wave of her fingers.

Looking her up and down, he responded. “Hi.” Suddenly, she was running a finger down his arm. Who was this chick, and why on _earth_ was she touching him? He jolted back slightly. “Um, can I help you?”

Fanning herself, she scoffed. “Oh, where are my manners? I’m Chloe. I was wondering if you wanted to go to the coronation with me?”

Adrien popped his lips. “Um, no, not really?”

Chloe flipped her hair over her shoulder. “What? I don’t think I heard you correctly?”

“No,” he stated again, this time a little harsher. “I have someone else in mind.”

She laughed. “Oh, really? I’m telling you we’re the perfect combination. I’m the prettiest girl in school, and you’re the hot bad boy. What more of a match do you need?”

This girl just wouldn’t go away would she? Taking all of his self-control, Adrien let out an irritated sigh. “Look, I’m planning on asking someone else to the coronation, alright? Go ask Nathaniel. He’s plenty of, um, hot bad boy.”

“Fine,” she spun on her heel, her pony tail whacking him in the face. He snarled as he watched her walk away. “Your loss,” she chimed.

Adrien wiped his hands down his face in aggravation. God, the things he did for his father’s approval. Ridiculous. Sighing, he glanced over at Alya, who had seen the exchange and gave him a sympathetic smile. This entire thing was going to be the death of him. Whether it was by the hand of his father or the Auradon police, he guessed he’d have to see.

Light tapping on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts. He spun back around. “Look, Chloe, I—oh.” It was none other than the princess standing there behind him.

Smiling guiltily, she cringed a little. “Oh, so you’ve met Chloe, huh? She’s not the nicest girl around. Tends to make fun of anyone she can.”

Snorting, Adrien shook his head. “Even you? How could she? You’re the princess, aren’t you? Soon-to-be queen in a few days, right?”

Marinette fiddled with her side hairs, twirling them around her finger. “Yeah, well, I’m not the most graceful of princesses, that’s for sure. Or the prettiest,” she murmured the last bit and glanced away.

“What do you mean?” Adrien asked, his head tilting slightly. Cupping under her chin, he lifted her head up. “I think you’re the most beautiful girl in all of Auradon.”

Blinking up at him, her eyes widened as a flush spread across her cheeks. “O-Oh…”

This was it. This was his chance. He looked her straight in the eyes, focusing on controlling her thoughts. Eyes turning a light purple, his pupils narrowed into slits, as a symbol of a butterfly appeared over her face and her eyes glazed over. Adrien smirked. “Marinette, you love me, don’t you?”

“Mmhmm…” she hummed in a daze.

“That’s why I’m going to be your date to the coronation, right?”

“Of course…”

He stared intently into her eyes for another moment, before letting the symbol disappear and his eyes returning to normal. Marinette simply gazed at him, her face going blank. Moving his hand to her cheek, he bent down to look at her face more clearly. “Marinette? You okay?”

The princess blinked out of her trance. Leaning forward, she gave him a peck on the cheek. “Yup! I’m fine! I’ll see you at the dinner today, right?”

Puffing out his cheeks, Adrien gave a nod. “Oh, um, yeah. Totally. I’m excited for it.”

Marinette beamed at him. “Good! I love you! See you in a bit!” she chimed as she frolicked off into another hallway of the school.

“Yeah, see you then!” he called after her as she skipped away. Quickly, in a huff, he spun to face Alya who was just as stunned as he was.

“Woah,” she said with a gape. “You actually did it.”

Running a hand down the side of his face, Adrien nodded. “I-I did…”

“How… How did it feel?”

Grimacing, he shook his head. “Honestly? Not good…”

o~o~o~o

Alya was stunned when she opened the door to find the princess standing on the other side of it. Marinette smiled, with a small wave. “Um, hi Alya. I have a big dinner to attend this evening, but um, I need some help.”

Glancing back at Mylene, who was equally shocked and simply shrugged, Alya turned to the princess with a curious brow. “Help with what?”

Marinette stalked into the room, much to the pair’s dismay. Hopefully, they didn’t have anything out in the open that would shout “hey! we’re trying to steal the Miraculous!”

“So, I design all of my own dresses and outfits, but I can never seem to make my hair and make-up go with it. But, you two always have such pretty hair and make-up, so I was wondering if you could help me?” Marinette asked as she sat down on one of their small chairs.

What an innocent request, Alya reasoned. This princess was too sweet for her own good. “So, you basically want us to give you a make-over?” she asked.

Bobbing her head, Marinette agreed. “Yeah, exactly! I have the design of my dress. Would you like to see it?”

“Yeah, sure.” Alya replied as Marinette handed her the sketch pad, who then passed it along to Mylene. “That’s really pretty, Marinette. Who knew a princess could be so talented?”

Mylene nodded. “Yeah, that’s really gorgeous. You’re lucky there’s someone to make them for you.”

“Oh, well I can sew, myself,” Marinette explained. “I just never have time now with all of my responsibilities. Being queen is a lot tougher than I thought it would be… but luckily, thanks to my first decree as soon-to-be queen, I got to meet Adrien and you guys. And he’s great!” she chimed.

Ouch. There was a pang of guilt in her chest that was back. This poor, poor girl. What were they doing this for? Glancing sadly at Mylene, Alya sighed. “Yeah, we’re so happy to be here, Marinette. Of course, we’ll help you.”

The princess had a smile that could light up an entire room. “Thanks!”

o~o~o~o

Oh, goddammnit. Why was she so damn pretty? It was the first time he’d ever seen her hair down like that. It was beautiful. She was _so_ beautiful. Her dress was red and spotted, just like the Ladybug Miraculous she would be receiving in just a few days. It was so frilly at the top and poofed out like a short ball gown at the bottom. God, she was adorable.

As she approached, he noticed how different her make-up looked this evening. There was red eye-shadow lining heavily mascara coated eyelashes. Her bluebell eyes seemed even brighter than they usually were. He held out an arm for her, which she hooked in with no hesitation. It seemed his spell was still in effect.

The pair joined everyone else in the large courtyard. Alya, Mylene, and Nathaniel were already there as they walked over to the balcony to wave at the guests. Marinette then guided him to where the king and queen stood.

“Mom, Dad, this is my boyfriend, Adrien.”

The king and queen gave each other uneasy glances at first, before turning to him with kindness. “It’s nice to meet you, Adrien.” The king said as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

Adrien bowed quickly. “N-Nice to meet you too, sir.”

He chuckled. “Tom is just fine, my boy. No need to be so nervous.”

“Yes,” the queen took Adrien’s hand as he stood straight. “You can just call me Sabine, as well.”

“I will admit, at first I was hesitant about Marinette’s decision to bring children over here from the Isle of the Lost, but after the way that Marinette talks about you, I think it was the right choice.”

The guilt that pitted in Adrien’s stomach almost made him vomit right on the spot.

o~o~o~o

Adrien paced in his dorm, as the fellow Isle children watched. “We can’t do this. How are we supposed to do this to these people? Marinette especially? All she has done has been nice to us, and we’re going to throw that away?”

“What about your dad, Adrien,” Alya pointed out. “If we don’t pull this off, he could toast us all easily.”

Groaning, Adrien sat down on his bed. “I know, I don’t know what to do. This isn’t right.”

“We’re not right. That’s why we’re not supposed to be here, isn’t that what you said?” Nathaniel grumbled.

Running his fingers through his hair, Adrien shook his head. “I don’t know what right and wrong is anymore…”

Knocking at the door made them all flinch. “C-Come in!” he called.

The door squeaked open to reveal Marinette on the other side. “O-Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. If you’re all busy I can come back later…”

Shaking his head, Adrien reached at her. “No! Don’t go!” he quipped. Oh, shit. He glanced at his friends who were all staring at him knowingly. Well, that was embarrassing. “I mean, what do you need Marinette? You’re not a bother.”

Twiddling with her fingers nervously, Marinette stared at him. “Would you like… to come with me? Off campus? Like… a date?”

Now, Adrien could feel himself blushing. The son of Gabriel Agreste did not blush! Oh, hell no! What was happening to him!? Gulping, he nodded. “Yeah, sure. I’ll go with you.”

Her smile was blinding. “Okay! I’ll be back here in a little bit!” She shut the door behind her and the dorm room fell into silence.

That is, until Alya spoke up.

“You’re in love with her.”

Shooting a look in her direction, Adrien quickly denied the claim. “What? No, I’m not! That’s ridiculous.”

Alya glanced at the other two in the room who shared her look. “Bullshit, Adrien. You’ve completely changed since you’ve been pretend dating Marinette the past few days. She’s been on you like a leech, and you’ve been completely eating it up. Quit lying to us and yourself.” She gave a sigh. “Go on the date… then we have a pretty big decision to make.”

o~o~o~o

Adrien followed her outside the front doors of the school to see a motorcycle sitting there. Was that hers? Oh, shit. That’s hot as fuck.

Giving a snort, he placed his hands on his hips. “A princess on a motorcycle? Now, that’s a new one.”

She grinned at him as she clipped her helmet. “I mean, if you’d rather take the limo, we can. This is just more freeing if you ask me.”

“Isn’t the guy supposed to drive the girl on the motorcycle?”

Marinette laughed at that. “You got a license?”

He glanced away. “Well, no.”

The princess kicked her leg over the bike, and motioned for him to join her with a bob of her head. “Then who needs the stereotypes? Get on the bike.”

Adrien didn’t need to be told twice. He clipped the other helmet on, and took a seat behind her. The pair sped away, off the campus. Off to new places of Auradon he’d yet to see.

Being cramped on campus was a shame, he’d come to discover. There were so many beautiful places in this kingdom. It was nothing like the Isle. They reached the Enchanted Lake, and Marinette parked her bike. Taking her helmet off, her cute little pigtails had become messy and undone. He certainly didn’t mind it though. The bad girl look was good on her.

The pair lay underneath the gazebo. Adrien rested his head in Marinette’s lap as she played with his blonde locks. This was something he could get used to. He really wanted to. But everything was so confusing. Having to choose between his father and Marinette was becoming more and more difficult with each minute he spent with her.

“Adrien?”

“Hm?”

“What’s the Isle like?” she asked.

Thinking back of that dark and filthy place almost made him cringe. “It’s… nothing like here. People steal, cheat, and make a mess of everything all the time. No one has any remorse or guilt. It’s harsh.”

Still fiddling with his hair, Marinette hummed sadly. “I’m sorry. I’m glad you’re here now.”

“Yeah,” he croaked.

Moving his head from her lap, she stood and turned to gaze at the enchanted water. Unfortunately, she stepped to close to the edge, her heels catching, causing her to go flying into the water below. Adrien hopped up in a panic, jumping in after her.

“Marinette!?”

Her head popped up from the water as he made his way over to her. The water got deeper and he found himself panicking. “U-Um. I can’t exactly swim.”

Marinette simply stared at him a moment. She shook her head. “O-Oh! Right!” She pedaled herself over to him enough for him to lift her from the shallow water and back onto the floor of the gazebo. The princess blinked at him. “You… You can’t swim?”

Running a hand through his wet hair, he shook his head. “No. Not exactly swimming pools on the Isle.”

“But, you still jumped in to save me?”

Adrien pushed himself out of the water. “Yeah, I don’t know what I would have done if something happened to you.”

A blush spread across her cheeks. “I see…” she trailed off before making direct eye contact with him. “Adrien, I told you that I love you. Do you love me?”

Oh… shit. He glanced away and down into the water. “Well, I don’t really know what love feels like,” he said with half a shrug.

Marinette cupped under his chin, lifting his head back up to see her. “Maybe, I can teach you?” she leaned in and pressed her lips to his. Adrien felt himself melt against her. Fireworks exploded behind his eyes as his lips danced with hers. He was a goner. That was for sure.

o~o~o~o

“I’m going to undo the manipulation spell,” Adrien said to Alya.

She stared at him flatly. “The coronation is _tomorrow_. What are you thinking?”

“Having Marinette still be in love with me after we take the Miraculouses just seems too… _cruel_ , you know?”

Alya glanced down at her hands. “We’re really going to do this, huh?”

Letting out a sigh, he nodded. “We don’t have a choice.”

“There’s always a choice, Adrien. I just don’t know if we’re making the right one,” she murmured as she headed towards the door. She paused and glanced back at him. “Nino asked me to the coronation. He’s really nice… you two would have probably been good friends if it weren’t for all of this.” Giving him a sad smile, she closed the door behind her.

o~o~o~o

Marinette walked up the stairs in her coronation gown. It was strapped around her neck, with a long train flailing out behind her at the bottom. This time, it was pink with white floral patterns covering it. He honestly preferred the sexy red Ladybug dress from the pre-coronation dinner, but he wasn’t really the one in charge here. After what was about to happen, he didn’t have the right to have a say.

The two stood arm in arm in front of the chapel doors. Clearing his throat, he turned to her. “Marinette.”

She gazed up at him. “Yes?”

He took a deep breath, eyes focusing on her. When his eyes narrowed into slits, Marinette held a hand up to him. “There’s no need for all of that.”

Adrien jolted, taken aback by her statement. “W-What?”

“There’s no need to undo a spell that isn’t there anymore, right?”

He stared at her blankly. “Oh, right.” Wait. What!? He processed her words. Blinking at her, he gaped. “You—You’re not under the spell anymore?”

She snorted. “Nope. It washed away in the Enchanted Lake when I fell.”

“You’re not mad?”

Shaking her head, she let out a breathy laugh. “No. I’m nervous asking someone out too. If I could have put a spell on you, I would have done the same.”

“So—So, what? You’ve just been _faking_ it since the lake? Marinette, you _made-out_ with me after that for Pete’s sake.”

The princess simply barked a laugh. “Calm down there, moth boy,” she raised his hand to her lips and pressed a gentle kiss there. “I haven’t faked anything.”

Gulping, he flushed. This was bad. This was so, so bad.

They walked together down the aisle. Other students and school faculty all lined the sides of the rug. Never in his life had Adrien just wanted to scream, cry, and run away. At the end of the aisle, stood an elder man with the box of the two Miraculouses sitting open, ready to be presented to them.

Marinette curtsied to him when they reached him. “Master Fu, good to make your acquaintance again.”

“As to you, my queen,” he said with a bow.

They both turned to the audience as the queen approached Marinette. She placed the new crown on top of her head, and the crowd went into a small applause. They then turned back around to Master Fu. Marinette bent down as he placed the earring within her ears. Adrien gulped when the man gestured for him to hold out his hand. The elder slipped the ring onto Adrien’s finger. The weight was almost too much to bear. The guilt was eating him alive.

He had to. He had to. He had to.

Adrien reached up, grabbing hold of Marinette’s ears. The ring and studs glowed at the contact with each other, shooting a beam of light up to the sky, and breaking the barrier to the Isle. The crowd let out a gasp.

“Adrien… What are you doing?” Marinette whimpered. Betrayal was clear in her eyes.

Alya, Mylene, and Nathaniel ran up to join him. Nathaniel eyed him. “Adrien, just take them. Let’s get out of here.”

“What?” Marinette gasped.

He gazed at her. “Marinette, I—I have to. We don’t have a choice!”

“There’s always a choice! Your parents made theirs now make yours, Adrien.”

The words shook him to the core. It may have been one thing coming from Alya… but coming from the girl that he’d found himself falling in love with. That was different. He glanced over at the others, before turning back to Marinette. “I-I think I want to be good.”

Marinette reached up, cupping his hands that her grasping her earrings. “You _are_ good!”

“How do you know that!?” he cried.

“Be—Because I’m listening to my heart. I know that this isn’t you! You’re not your parents, Adrien, you are so much more than that,” she said gently as she took his hands off the earrings, both jewels returning to their normal color.

Intertwining his fingers with hers, he gazed into her eyes. “Marinette… I…”

“Oh, well isn’t this sweet?”

Adrien gasped at the voice. Oh, no. No, no, no! There was another roar from the crowd as Adrien turned to see his father standing in the middle of the Isle. “D-Dad. How did you get here?”

Chuckling darkly, Gabriel eyed his son. “Now, isn’t the time for questions. Give me the Miraculous.”

Adrien clutched the ring with both hands. “No.”

Gabriel cocked a brow. “No?”

“No, father! I won’t do it!”

“Now, this is a surprise. What’s gotten into you?”

Adrien shook his head. “I’m not you, father. I don’t want to be you. I’m not evil. This isn’t who I am.”

“Hand over the jewels, or else, son.”

Hardening his gaze, Adrien sneered. “ _No._ ”

Gabriel growled. “Fine. Have it your way then.” Butterflies surrounded him, transforming him into Hawkmoth. He lifted his scepter in his direction, firing it towards them. The crowd screamed in terror, only for him to manipulate the audience into silence and freeze them. Adrien jumped in front of Marinette, shielding her from the blast.

The ring on Adrien’s finger began to hum and glow, green light absorbed him as he too changed forms. He glanced down at his gloved hands in surprise.

Marinette clutched to him. “You can do it,” she whispered.  Hawkmoth then froze the rest of the counsel, including the princess. Adrien glowered, turning around slowly. His eyes glowing an unnatural green.

“Aw, now that’s a scary face. What happened to my powers, hm? I know you have them.”

“Don’t need them,” he growled.

Hawkmoth charged him, Adrien stopping him by clutching the staff with both hands to block him. His father’s eyes bored into his own, turning a bright lilac and his father’s eyes narrowed into slits just as Adrien’s had before.

Taking a step forward, Adrien forced him back. His own eyes a vibrant green as he tried to overpower his father’s abilities. Another step. Gabriel glanced between his staff and his son, losing focus on defeating him. With sheer determination, Adrien forced a symbol across his father’s face, however not a butterfly, but a shining cat. Hawkmoth reared back into a puff of smoke. A small creature emerging from it. Adrien caught him in his hands as the Black Cat glowed again, and instantly Adrien was back into his formal attire and the crowd was unfrozen.

Marinette charged him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You did it. I can’t believe you did it.”

“I…I did…” Adrien sighed in relief as he scooped her up in his arms to spin her. “I really did it…”

Marinette grabbed him by the lapels of his dress coat, yanking him down into a solid kiss. The audience cooed at the sight, but Adrien was too wrapped up in the feeling of her lips against his to really pay any attention to it. Living happily ever after with her was all he ever needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This became a monster. Why did I do this? The ending might not make sense if you haven't actually seen Descendants. Basically, she defeats her mom in a staring competition, so that's what I did here. There was actually more I wanted to write, but this became jumbled scenes as well. But, whatever! There's parts of it that I like, so that's cool!


	18. Gaming

Marinette was letting him win a few times. He probably suspected that, but hey, he wasn’t actually complaining about it. She wasn’t sure how long they’d actually been playing Ultimate Mecha Strike III, but her thumbs were sore, and her eyes were beginning to strain. After finishing another game, the voice stated that Marinette was in the lead again.

Adrien dropped his remote and flopped onto his back on the couch. His feet plopped down onto her lap, earning him a glare. “How are you so good at this? I’ll never understand.”

She puffed her chest proudly. “Luck, my dear chaton.”

He gave her a flat stare and held up his wrist that her charm bracelet was wound on. “Oh, yeah? This was supposed to be good luck, wasn’t it?”

“You won a few times,” she retorted with a shrug.

Scoffing at her, his eyes narrowed. “Yeah, _sure.”_

Okay. So, he _did_ know she was letting him win.

“Well, what do you want to do now? Another game?” he asked.

She sighed. “If I play another game my thumbs will fall off.”

“Oh, cool. I might actually have a real chance then.” Marinette’s squinted at him and pushed his feet off her lap, causing his torso to topple off the couch after his legs. Adrien lay silent on the floor for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, I deserved that.”

“Do we really have to play more?” Marinette groaned.

Jutting his bottom lip out, Adrien making an obvious puppy pout. “But, my lady, I never get to play games with anyone. I’m always aloneee,” he whined.

_Really?_

“Are you trying to guilt me into playing more video games with you?”

“Maybe.”

“It’s not working.”

“Marinetteee!:

“Adriennnn,” she mocked in a higher tone.

Crossing his arms, Adrien continued sulking on the floor. “I’m so deprived.”

“Deprived of what?”

“Social interaction, obviously.”

She snorted in response, but he honestly wasn’t wrong. Being constantly cooped up in his room meant that he never really hung out with people. It was sweet that he simply just enjoyed something as small as just playing video games together.

“Am I the first person you’ve ever played games with?”

“…Besides playing against others at the school? Yes.”

Marinette felt a twinge to her heart. She always played video games with her papa. Her parents always played all types of games with her. It hurt knowing that Adrien never got any of that.

“Did you ever play games with your parents as a child?”

He sat up on the floor, twiddling his fingers idly in his lap. “Not really.”

Marinette’s ears perked. “Wait here.”

She hadn’t expected to teach her sixteen year old boyfriend how to play Go Fish. And she certainly hadn’t planned on it being the most entertaining game of Go Fish she had ever played. Sometimes he would screw up and pretend like he hadn’t. At first he tried to pair hearts with hearts rather than numbers. He was comfortable with the cards, implying that he had a lot of experience playing Solitaire. Figures, since it was a one person game.

She was surprised to find herself _losing_ a good bit.

Adrien propped his elbow on the back of the couch with a smirk. “Looks like I can finally beat you at something, my lady.”

He seemed stunned when she didn’t retort. Even as competitive as she was, she had no problem with him beating her with the look of sheer joy on his face. If he liked this so much… maybe they could try a game of Monopoly or Life…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this one is the shortest I've done. I'm literally exhausted. You guys got 15 pages yesterday, it's all good. :P


	19. Best Friends

Ladybug gazed out at the city lights as she and Chat Noir sat on one of the platforms of the Eiffel Tower. She was a sucker for this view, and it seemed her crime fighting partner was too. Both sat there, idly swinging their legs, thighs slightly touching, giving each of them comfort with the contact. There was a pleasant silence between them.

That is, until, Chat decided to speak up.

“Hey, Marinette?”

Her real name? Now, that was rare considering that they were in costume. That wasn’t something he did often. Ever since she found out Adrien was Chat Noir, the two made sure to not accidently slip up in anyway. It was a learning process, sure, but they were managing. They’d actually become really close from this. She had backed off from obsessing over him, although, had that changed her feelings towards him? No. But she would be respectful of Adrien’s choices. If he didn’t want her, then that was okay. She was just thankful he was in her life.

She turned to him, tilting her head slightly. “Yes, Adrien?” He wasn’t looking at her, she noticed. There was something going on in that brain of his.

“Do you remember that good luck charm you gave me? The one during the Gamer akuma?”

Turning her head back out towards the city, she nodded. “Yes, I remember. What about it?”

From the corner of her eye, she saw Chat look down and fiddle with his clawed thumbs in his lap. “Well, I… This is going to be kind of a long story, okay?”

Licking her lips, she gave another nod. “Alright.”

His fingers kept twitching while he spoke. “I found out that you made that scarf for my birthday.” Marinette felt herself stiffen at that. “I figured it out when you said you signed your work… so I noticed it when I was hanging it up. It’s okay that you didn’t tell me. I get it. You were just trying to make sure I wasn’t disappointed. You’re too sweet, Mari,” he said to her with a slight smile. “And then you made me that hat for Christmas that I gave to someone else… then it got lost. I felt guilty for that. I know your birthday is tomorrow, and I thought about getting you something really fancy in return for all of the amazing presents you’ve given me.”

Quickly speaking up, Ladybug leaned towards him. “Adrien, you don’t have t--”

With a hesitant smile, he held up one finger to hush her as he continued. “But, I decided that buying you something wasn’t really— _worthy_ of all of the heart and soul you’ve put into gifts you’ve given me. So, I decided to make you something instead.”

Her jaw popped open slightly, her eyes softening as she did so. “You didn’t have to do that for me…”

Chewing his lip, he ruffled a nervous hand through his hair with a smile. “I know, but you’re worth it to me.” He took in a breath before speaking again. “I-I know that you have Alya, and I have Nino. But… I don’t know. I feel like you know me better than anyone. You know both halves of me, and you have taken the time to get to know both sides. I appreciate that so much. It may seem silly, but I really consider you to be my best friend, Marinette. That’s why…” he unzipped the pocket of his suit, and pulled out a tiny charm bracelet made similar to the one she had given him. It was black with green paw print charms hanging off, as well as her name spelled out in blocks. “I wanted to give you this,” he said as he took her hand, placed the bracelet in her palm, and closed her fingers around it.

Ladybug’s eyes widened as she pulled her hand back and cupped the charm against her middle. “You went through all of this trouble for me?”

“Nothing’s trouble for you, my lady.”

She blushed a little at that. Looking down, she admired the charm once again. “This is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me, Chat.”

Rubbing a hand down the back of his neck, he shook his head. “It was nothing really. I know that best friend bracelets usually have the other person’s name on it, but I decided to do your name with my color scheme just because I thought that was cooler, I did the same thing with mine—oh! Let me show you!” He pulled another bracelet out of his pocket and held it up for her to see. It was red with ladybug charms hanging off and his name in block letters in the middle, just like hers. “This isn’t too cheesy, right?” Chat asked with a hesitant snicker. He closed his hand around the charm and looked at her fully. “I know that friendship bracelets are kind of kiddish… but I never got to have one when I was a kid. I saw some online and thought they were cool. My first thought was of you, and then I remembered your birthday and all the nice things you’ve made for me, so I just kind of… did it.”

 Shaking her head quickly, Ladybug pressed the bracelet against her chest. “No, no! This is really sweet of you! How long have you been working on these?”

“About a month? I didn’t really know what I was doing,” he laughed.

Ladybug glanced down at the charm again, smiling wide. “It’s wonderful, Adrien. This is the best birthday present I could ever want.”

His cat ears perked as he sat up straighter. “You really mean that?” Chat asked, eyes lighting up.

Giggling into the back of her hand, Ladybug bobbed her head. “Yes, I do. I can’t believe you worked on these so long.”

“Well, I mean, it took a few tries. Not everyone can be as talented as you, Purrincess,” he teased, reaching over to tap her on the nose with a claw.

“Wellll, I guess you got me there,” she chimed with a laugh.

Chat Noir cackled in return. “Your modesty is too much, Marinette, really.”

“Pfft, pot calling the kettle black?”

Clicking his tongue, Chat spun his head away. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Surrreee, you don’t.”

Placing a hand on his chest in mock offense, he scoffed. “How dare you insinuate that I’m not modest, my lady?”

“Says the model.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault I look great all of the time.”

“Wow! Mister Modesty strikes again!”

The two fell into chorus of laughter after that. Marinette almost unable to breathe and her abs were hurting far too much. As she watched Chat wipe away tears, she realized that he really did know her better than even Alya did. Maybe, even better than she knew herself. Alya would always be her best friend, but maybe Adrien was a little more than a best friend. Not romantically… even if she hoped that maybe, just, maybe that could be true. But at least platonically. She felt herself closer to him than anyone else.

Scooting closer to him, she put the bracelet on. She took his hand and intertwined her fingers with his. “For the record, you are my best friend.”

Blinking in surprise, Chat was taken aback. “I am? What about Alya.”

“She can make room in the standings. You just understand me a little more. You know all of me too.”

He glanced away from her, a smile tugging at his lips as he deflated in relief. “That’s… actually good to hear. Not that I want to boot Alya off her top spot or anything,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s just nice to know that you feel as close to me as I do to you. It’s not a one-sided thing.”

Squeezing his hand, she shook her head. “Not one-sided in the slightest. You know me more than anyone. You even knew that I would appreciate a gesture such as this,” she stated, motioning towards the bracelet.

“Well, I wasn’t for _sure_ , but I was _hoping._ ”

Gathering her courage, Ladybug leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “You did good, kitty.”

Had she expected to see his face completely flush and her crime fighting partner turn red as a beat? No. Was she disappointed that such a thing occurred? _Hell_ no.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words came out. Mouth just opening and closing like a fish gasping for air. Chat seemed to be processing her actions. Should she have not done that?  Was that too forward of her? She had been trying to keep her feelings for him under wraps. Always unsure of how he felt about her, she didn’t want to rock the boat and ruin the friendship they had made. Especially after this instance.

Glancing away, she gazed down at her lap. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have.”

She was surprised when a gloved hand cupped her cheek, causing her to look back up at him. The gaze in his eyes made her heart melt. There was so much admiration there. _Adoration._ Almost as if he… nah. Couldn’t be. There was no way that Adrien Agreste of all people would love _her._

…Or so she thought.

He glanced down at her lips and back up, meeting her eyes. Asking for permission. Gulping, she leaned in and brushed her nose against his, nuzzling his cheek. Her lips lightly brushed his, once, twice, before he took the initiative and pressed his lips to hers. Butterflies churned in her stomach at the feeling. Grabbing her waist, he pulled his closer, his lips never leaving hers. She wound her arms around his neck, her heart and blood pounding.

Kissing her best friend might end up coming with complications, but in that moment… Marinette couldn’t find herself to care.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just going to start posting these whenever, instead of way early in the morning. So, enjoy!
> 
> Guess who has a lot of awkward embarrassment planned for "Caught" tomorrow! IT'S ME.


	20. Caught

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AKA The Three Times Adrien and Marinette were caught.

After finding out each other’s identities, Marinette was actually more excited than she should have been. Knowing that she spent time with her sweet Adrien on a daily basis rattled her at first, but after processing this, she realized that she and Adrien were actually a lot closer than she realized. If anything, knowing he was Chat Noir made her fall for him even _more._ Chat Noir and Adrien slowly becoming one in her mind made everything click into place. Information she thought she didn’t know about Adrien, such as his since of humor or favorite things, she actually _did_ know. It was crazy!

What was even crazier was Chat Noir popping in her trap door before she even had the chance to clean up her room.

And by that she meant: taking down all of her magazine clippings of Adrien!!

Chat dropped in as if he had been doing it all the time. With a wave, he smiled. “Hey, Marinette!” After making eye contact and seeing her obviously panicked expression, he winced. “Sorry, I should have asked first. Is this a bad time?”

Face flushing, Marinette squeaked. “Um…”

He took a step towards her. “Marinette? Are you okay?”

She flinched, sucking her bottom lip between her teeth. “Mmhmm…” Her words came out higher pitched than she had intended.

Blinking at her, Chat was obviously confused.  He glanced away and back to her. “Are you su—woah.” Doing a double take, he _saw_ them. They were everywhere. How could he _not_ see them!? “Is—Is that me?”

Looking everywhere but him, she continued to gnaw on her lip. She let out a breath. “Y-Yeah.”

“Oh? For fashion stuff?”

A scape goat. She could definitely agree and this humiliation would be over. …Or she could just come clean and tell him how she feels. Weighing her options, she found herself growing more flustered. “No!” she blurted before covering her mouth with her hands.

Tilting his head, Chat’s brow furrowed. “No?”

“No…” she murmured with a shake of her head. Gazing down at the floor, her head hung in shame.

Reaching out, Chat placed a hand on her shoulder and bent down to see her face. “Hey, you can trust me, it’s okay.”

“Ihaveacrushonyou!” she cried in a jumble of words.

“You what?”

She flopped down onto her chaise, her hands on her face. “I like you… a lot.”

“You _do?_ ” Chat asked in surprised.

“Yes…”

Suddenly, she was being tackled in a hug. “That’s great! I lo—like you too!”

Was he about to say…? Nah. Elation took over her, a beam bursting across her face. “Really?”

“Yes!”

o~o~o~o

Adrien and Marinette lay curled up on his couch, popcorn in their lap, and a movie playing on the flat screen. Their kwamis were bundled up in a small blanket on the back of the couch. Marinette’s head laid on his chest, her head under his chin while his arms were wound around her waist. Adrien was in heaven. This was one of the best nights of his life. Now that he had a lot of experience with cuddling, he wanted to scoop her up and hold her anytime he could.

Marinette gazed up at him with those bluebell eyes that simply made him weak. She rolled over to face him as he cocked a curious brow. What was she doing? Reaching up, she ran a finger across the outline of his face, running across his cheeks and chin. She scooched up more, so that she was still in his lap, but they were face to face.

Feeling the blush sprouting across his cheeks, Adrien’s eyes widened. “M-Marinette?”

Her smile was blinding as she wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning up and nosing his cheek. When her lips pressed to his, Adrien felt his heart soar. Kissing her would never get old. Her lips always hypnotized him, putting him in a daze. He was such putty in her hands, but he never had a problem with it. Her fingers danced with the baby hairs at the back of his neck while her mouth moved against his. Quickly, his hand moved up, tangling it her hair, causing her to gasp against his lips.

This was it. This was how he died.

…Or it would’ve been if a stern voice hadn’t cleared its throat from his bedroom door.

Marinette yelped and flew away from him as he jolted to attention. Spinning his head, he saw his father standing in the doorway. Mortified was an understatement. “Father!” he squeaked, his voice an octave higher than he would’ve liked. Adrien jumped from his spot on the couch and scrambled over to where Gabriel stood. Adrien stood, stiff as a board, a nervous, tight lipped smile plastered on his face. “Y-Yes, Father?”

Gabriel brought a hand up to his face, stroking his chin. It would seem like a normal gesture if Adrien couldn’t see the smile he was trying to hide. Oh. Wow. He’d never seen his dad laugh in a long time. Good to know his suffering was hilarious.

“I came to tell you that Ms. Dupain-Cheng was welcome to stay with us for dinner this evening if she would like.” A humor glint flashed in his eyes. “But, if you two are busy…”

“Father!” Adrien squealed. He quickly buried his face in his hands and groaned. Face completely flushed, he looked but up at Gabriel in surprise. “You—You’re not _mad_ at me?”

 Giving a small smile, he shook his head. His father placed a hand on his shoulder. “I was young once too, Adrien. However, if you and Ms. Dupain-Cheng are not responsible about your… _emotions_ I will have to ask that you two are monitored when together.”

Adrien didn’t know if he could blush anymore, but he definitely was. Waving his hands in defense, he shook his head. “No! Nope! Nooo! It’s nothing like that, Father, I promise!”

Folding his hands behind his back, Gabriel gave a nod. “Good. Dinner will be ready in half an hour. Please, don’t get too distracted in such time.”

“We won’t,” he replied with another squeak.

With a smirk, Gabriel gave his son a curt nod and began down the hallway.

Adrien spun on his heel back to face Marinette, who was still sitting on the couch after witnessing the exchange, her mouth agape. His hands flew up into his hair. “What just _happened!_?”

o~o~o~o

Running down the rooftops, Adrien heard her earrings flash again. They were almost out of time. Needing to get somewhere safe to transform back was a top priority. The pair of them jumped down into an empty alleyway, away from prying eyes.

When they reached the ground, Chat leaned against the wall, heaving his breathing. “Man, that was ridiculous.”

Ladybug huffed as she leaned against the wall, slowly sliding her back down it to a sitting position. “You’re telling me. Those reporters were hounding me. I could barely get away. I didn’t even get to say anything for Alya’s Ladyblog.”

Crouching down next to her, Chat placed a hand on her shoulder. “You’ve got to be careful with that, you know. If you keep spoiling Alya, people are going to get suspicious as to why you always give her the most information.”

Ladybug groaned and leaned her head onto his thigh. “I knowww, but I can’t help it. I feel so guilty.”

“Alya’s big girl, Marinette, she wouldn’t like it if she knew you were coddling her. You can’t just give her info because she’s your best friend, you know?” Chat replied as he reached down to pet her hair.

Blowing a stray bang out of her face, she nodded. “Yeah. You’re right.”

“As always, my lady.”

She scoffed in response. “You’re so cheeky.”

With a laugh, Chat pushed himself back to a stand, much to Ladybug’s dismay when she grumbled about losing her pillow. He held a hand out to her, which she took and he helped her up while her earrings let out another beep.

“We should get you home,” he said as he stroked her cheek.

Puffing her lip out, she gave him a pout. “But, what if I wanted to spend a few more minutes with you?”

“Oh, what did you have in mind?”

Gripping him by the bell, Ladybug pulled him down for his lips to meet hers in a chaste kiss. Oh. So that’s what she had in mind. Well, he certainly wasn’t complaining. Her earrings gave their finally warning and he felt the energy of her transformation dropping surge. Kissing while transforming was honestly one of his favorite things. It made everything more… magical. (Damn, that was cheesy.)

The sound of something clattering against the ground made both of them freeze in their tracks. His eyes popped open, head whipping around to see none other than Alya standing there. Her hands her covering her mouth, eyes wide, and her phone lay abandoned on the ground. Glancing down at his lady, he saw Marinette’s eyes bulging with horror. This certainly wasn’t it good. He saw her quickly stuff Tikki into her purse before turning to face her friend, who was gaping in shock.

“M-Marinette!?” Alya gasped.

“A-Alya!” Marinette immediately waved her hands in defense. “I-I’m so sorry! I couldn’t tell you! I wasn’t allowed to! Honest! I would’ve told you if I could have!”

Alya seemed to still be processing he words. Holding up a hand, she nodded. “Okay, alright, don’t start babbling. I believe you. I understand that you couldn’t tell me.” Suddenly, she squinted at him, lips tightening. Anger flashed in her eyes. “But, what I _won’t_ forgive is you cheating on Adrien!”

Cheating on him!? What!? …Oh wait.

“No! That’s not! I’m not--” Marinette glanced at him. Her eyes gazed down at the down guiltily. “Oh…”

Alya stormed over to her. “I can’t believe you, girl! You’ve been madly in love with Adrien forever, and you finally get him and he’s not enough for you! You have to hook up with Chat Noir too!?” She jutted a finger into his face. Chat flinched back, ears going flat against his head. “Did you know she had a boyfriend!?”

Not knowing what to do, he glanced away nervously. “Um…”

Marinette grabbed Alya’s arm. “Stop, this has nothing to do with him.”

“So, he didn’t know!” Alya side eyed him. “You’re lucky you weren’t aware of the situation. I’m sorry to dump it on you like this, but Marinette has been dating Adrien Agreste for months!”

“Alya, stop! We can talk about this!” his girlfriend cried. But Alya was having none of it.

She simply shook her head. “There’s nothing to talk about. And I’m telling Adrien. I won’t tell him you’re Ladybug, but I am going to tell him that you cheated. I can’t believe you. I’m so disappointed. I thought you were better than that.” Alya started to walk away, but Marinette ran behind her and grabbed her shoulder.

“Alya! I am! It’s not what you think!”

She spun on her heel to face her, teeth snarling. “Then what is it!?”

He couldn’t let this continue. His lady didn’t deserve to lose her best friend over his secret. Knowing that Marinette wouldn’t tell the truth, he would have to. “It’s me, Alya.”

Throwing her hands on her hips, her eyes narrowed. “What’s you?”

He released a sigh. “Claws in,” he murmured. A green glow engulfed him as his mask zapped away.

Plagg flew out of the ring and perched on his shoulder. “Not good, kid.”

Side eyeing his kwami, he turned his attention back to Alya. “It’s _me._ ”

Alya’s mouth dropped, eyes flicking between the two of them. Holding one hand up, Alya pinched the bridge of her nose with the other. “Goddammit, Agreste. You had to let me scream at her first?”

Pouting, Adrien gestured to her. “You’re scary, Alya!”

She hushed him. “You two… are the most frustrating human beings I’ve ever met. I’m not even shocked that you’re superheroes.”

Twiddling her fingers, Marinette glanced up at her friend nervously. “You’re not mad?”

“No! I’m thrilled! But dammit, this was a traumatic way to find out.”

Adrien gave a slight shrug. “If it makes you feel any better, I went into Marinette’s room uninvited and saw her posters of me and that’s how I found out she liked me.”

Alya gave a snort and covered her mouth in an obvious attempt to hold back her laugh. “Girl…”

Marinette was mortified. Granted, he probably deserved that slap she gave him in return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't decide which one to go with... so I wrote all three! What can I say except... you're welcome??


	21. Distance

Marinette sewed away, focusing on the fabric before her. It was a good distraction considering her past few weeks have been very bland.

Suddenly, her phone gave a chime. Picking it up, she glanced at the screen.

_Incoming Video Call:_

**_Adrien <3_ **

Frantically, she fumbled with her phone to hit the answer button. As soon as she did, Adrien’s face popped up on the screen.

 _“Hey!”_ he said with a smile and a wave. It looked like he was back in his hotel room from what she could see.

“Hi!” she blurted way too quickly. Gulping back her embarrassment, she plastered on a smile. She and Adrien hadn’t been together too long before he had to go on a tour with his dad. Marinette was still getting used to the fact that this was actually her life.

He chuckled at her. _“What are you up to?”_

“Oh!” she turned the screen so he could see what she’s been working on. “Just sewing.”

 _“The usual.”_ He chimed as she turned the phone back to her face.

“What about you? How’s Italy?”

Adrien gave a shrug. _“Eh, it’s alright.”_

Marinette barked out a laugh. “Just ‘alright’? I would _die_ to be able to see Vernazza. And you’re going to Rome too, aren’t you?”

Nodding, Adrien sighed. _“Yeah, but… You’re not here, so it’s only ‘alright.’”_

Of course, he would make some type of romantic gesture. That’s just so… Adrien. Feeling her face flush, she shied away from her camera. “You’re such a cheeseball.”

 _“But I’m_ your _cheeseball,”_ he replied with a cheeky grin.

She gave a snort. “Yes, yes you are.” She paused for a moment. “Is this trip really that underwhelming to you?”

Nervously, he rubbed the back of his neck. _“I mean, there are great sights to see, but honestly, Mari, I get to sit on the Eiffel Tower with you on a daily basis. That’s something that nothing can really compare to.”_

Yup. She was definitely blushing again. How did he always know the right thing to say? Her boyfriend was a smooth operator. That was for sure. She gave a small smile. “I see. I’m glad you feel so highly of your time with me.”

 _“I do. I want to spend every day of my life that I can with you. I… I really miss you, my lady,”_ his own face flushed a little at those words.

Marinette couldn’t help how wide her smile grew. “I miss you too, kitty. But you’ll be home in a two weeks, and we can spend every day on the Eiffel Tower when you come back if you want.”

Adrien smiled. _“I’d like that.”_

Seeing the time, Marinette winced. “I want to keep talking, but I have to help my parents in the bakery tomorrow, so I should really get some sleep.”

With a pout, he sighed dramatically. _“Fineeee, I guess you can sleep instead of talk to your awesome boyfriend that desperately misses you.”_

She giggled. “Yeah, okay. You’ll live, chaton.”

Adrien simply grinned as he looked into the camera. _“I love you, Marinette.”_

That was another thing she was still getting used to. He said he loved her right before he left for Italy. She was still processing the fact that Adrien Agreste of all people loved her. She smiled in return.

“I love you, too, Adrien.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can pry cheeseball Adrien out of my cold, dead hands.


	22. Whoops!

Marinette has always been a klutz; it was nothing new to her. However, it was something that Adrien wasn’t quite used to yet. To him she was Ladybug. Ladybug didn’t fall or stumbled on her two left feet. (Granted, she did the first time she was transformed, but in her defense, she wasn’t used to it yet.) He was still getting used to having to catch her whenever she fell as her everyday persona. She had to admit, he was pretty damn good at it.

Cat reflexes, she supposed.

Unfortunately, it was one of Marinette’s unluckier days. She had overslept, not having the chance to wash her hair. Ugh, gross. But, in being so late she hadn’t had time to eat breakfast, so she grabbed a bottle of water and an apple to nibble on quickly as she raced to school. To make matters even worse, Alya was at home sick, so she would have to spend a school day without her best friend.

Upon reaching the classroom, she should have known something would go wrong with the way that Chloe was glaring at her. What had she done to irritate the Mayor’s daughter this time? Marinette threw away her apple core, sipping on her water as she headed up the stairs. While looking in Chloe’s direction, Marinette was distracted and missed the first step.

Adrien, knowing how clumsy she was, started to reach for her, only for her water bottle to fly out of her hand and splash him. Taken by surprise, he started back, leaving Marinette to fall on the stairs. Instantly, he was on the floor beside her.

“Mari, are you okay?”

Quickly sitting up, she waved her boyfriend off. “Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. I fall all the time.”

Wait. Why was he looking at her like that? 

His eyes were wide for a moment before he tucked two fingers under her chin, examining her with a furrowed brow and a focused stare. It was then she felt something begin to run from her nose. She reached up to wipe it away, only to be startled when the side of her hand came back red.

Blood.

Oh. That’s why he was giving her that look…

Adrien immediately jumped into action. His eyes were darting around the room, before he turned to Nino. “Hey, man, you gotta a handkerchief or something?”

Nino gave a nod. “Yeah, dude, give me a sec.”

Marinette frantically shook her head. “N-No. I’m fine,” she went to wipe away the blood. “Really, I’m okay.”

Shaking his head, Adrien gazed at her with a sympathetic gaze. “You’re not fine, Marinette.”

The blood running down her face started to come faster. Panic quickly took over Adrien’s features, and he cupped his hands under her chin to prevent the blood from dripping to the floor.

In that moment, Miss Bustier entered the classroom. “Woah, what’s going on here?”

Glancing between Marinette and their teacher, Adrien spoke hurriedly, “Um, we have a bit of a situation here, Miss Busiter.”

“Here,” Nino piped in as he tapped him on the shoulder.

Miss Bustier bent down over to them and took the handkerchief from Nino, pressing it to Marinette’s nose. The latter was so mortified by the whole situation.

Chloe scoffed from above them at her desk. “Wow, Marinette, you can’t even walk up the stairs and now Adrien’s designer clothes are going to be ruined because of you.” Marinette was too embarrassed to respond, but Adrien shot a warning glare her way. Their teacher just chose to ignore the comment for the time being.

Adrien and Miss Bustier helped Marinette to her feet. “Adrien, take her to the nurse’s office will you?”

“Yeah, of course,” he said with a nod, guiding her out the door.

When the pair left the room, Marinette stopped him, handkerchief pressed to her nose as she gazed up at him. “I’m so sorry. This is so gross and now you have my nose blood all over you, and you’re probably disgusted. I would be so embarrassed if you had to date me, I’m so, so--” The flat look on his face stopped her babbling.

“Give me more credit than that, my lady. We’re superheroes, a little nose bleed isn’t going to deter me away from you forever. I know that you trip and fall a lot. It’s okay. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to catch you in time.”

“It’s not your job to catch me,” she retorted in a nasally tone.

He smiled at her. “That’s where you’re wrong.” Adrien took his bloodied hand and took the handkerchief off her nose, smile growing when he noticed the bleeding had stopped. “I’m always going to catch you whenever I can. As Adrien or as Chat Noir. Every single day that I can. I’m sorry that I failed you today.”

Marinette’s heart pounded in her chest. How did she get lucky enough to have the sweetest boyfriend in the world? Giving him a smile in return, she replied, “You could never fail me, you silly kitty.”

His smile blew into a shiny grin. “Let’s get cleaned up and get you to the nurse’s office, yeah?”

“Yeah,” she said with a nod.

o~o~o~o

Well, after a good thirty minutes in the nurse’s office, and a dose of ibuprofen, Marinette was sent back to class. She was surprised when Nino was sitting up in Alya’s normal seat, and Adrien was frantically gesturing for her to sit next to him.

He was so protective of her. It was actually really cute. Adrien constantly glanced over at her, making sure she was all right. Again, the thought of “how did she get so lucky” passed through her mind again.

That being said, the fact that Adrien was so overprotective, never made her suspect that he would get revenge for her. Or… at least set up a situation to get revenge for her.

Chloe was standing at her locker, and Adrien lazily moseyed his way towards her. The blonde turned him with a giant, plastic smile. “Adrikins! I’m glad to see that your clothes weren’t ruined by that Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I can’t believe you actually are pretending to date her.”

Marinette felt her heart flatten at those words as she dug through her own locker. Feeling herself physically deflate, a deep frown spread across her features. She glanced up, making eye contact with her boyfriend in question. Adrien leaned against the locker beside him, sipping on a bottle of water in one hand.

He scoffed. “I’m not pretending to date Mari, Chlo, I’m not that type of guy, you should know me better.”

Chloe obviously backpedaled. “Well, of _course_ , I know you’re not that type of guy, Adrikins! We’ve been _friend_ for _years,_ ” she emphasized with a glance and smirk in Marinette’s direction.

Adrien rolled his eyes in the moment that Chloe was glancing at Marinette. Chloe didn’t seem to notice, but Marinette did. When the queen bee turned her attention back to Adrien, Marinette had to hid a giggle behind her palm.

“Yes, we have. So, I don’t understand why you’re--”

“Hey, bro!” Nino chimed as he bumped into Adrien from behind. Adrien stumbled forward, his uncapped bottle of water splashing its contents on Chloe in front of them. Marinette’s jaw fell agape, and she quickly hid her laugh behind her hand. Chloe shrieked when the water hit her.

Adrien let out an over exaggerated hiss. “Whoops! My bad, Chlo,” he turned to his best friend behind him. “Nino, what have I told you about sneaking up on me like that, man?” he said, in an overdone scolding tone.

“Adrikins! Control your stupid friends!” Chloe snapped. She glanced down at her soaked shoes. “Ugh! My pumps are ruined!”

Glancing at Nino, Adrien then turned his attention back to Chloe with a shrug. “Guess you’ll have to tell your dad that your designer shoes were ruined because of me.”

Sabrina’s mouth dropped open, obviously realizing what Adrien was insinuating. Chloe was too oblivious to process the fact that Adrien had set her up.

He gave her one last shrug and a tap on the shoulder. “Sorry, again,” and walked over to Marinette.

She gazed at him in disbelief. “Did you really just do that? That’s not the proper Adrien Agreste that I know.”

Leaning against the locker beside hers, he smirked. “Yeah, but, today was too far. Chloe might be my first friend, but nobody messes with my girlfriend,” he chimed as he tapped her on the nose.

Her hands immediately went up to cup over her nose and mouth. “Don’t touch it! What if it starts bleeding again!?”

“Then I guess I’ll have to save you again, Bugaboo,” he teased in a whisper before discreetly pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

Marinette smiled and closed her locker as Adrien simply gazed at her. She crossed her arms and leaned against her locker. “You know, I might like this bad boy Agreste.”

The genuine laugh he gave her chimed like the first time she had ever heard it.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had a stressful day and didn't get to post this one yesterday. I'll post today's in a few hours. 
> 
> The nosebleed thing? Literally happened to me. This is my life story. Also, I was going to stop after the first part, but I wanted to add a little more because, why not? Gotta milk Chloe as the villain until Season 2 rolls around. Who knows what'll happen then?


	23. Sick Day

So, maybe it was a really bad idea to be outside in this wind while he was fighting off a cold, but Adrien was very angry with his father and just needed to get away. His favorite spot to sit as Chat Noir was on the Eiffel Tower. Granted, that was usually with Ladybug’s company, but Marinette _knew_ he was sick since she had come to check on him after school that day when he missed.

He sat there, feet dangling off the tower as he took in the lights of the city. What his father and Marinette didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. …Right?

The cold air made his nose burn and his eyes watered a bit. Sniffling, he whipped his running nose onto the suit sleeve. Plagg would definitely rant about disgusting that is later. Can’t dirty up the suit, according to his kwami.

After another gust of wind tickled his nose, Adrien fell into a series of sneezes. One after another until finally he caught his breath. One particularly harder sneeze almost sent him flying off the tower. While regaining himself after his sneeze fest, he flinched when he heard the familiar clatter of footsteps behind him.

“A _hem_ …” a voice cleared behind him.

Oh. Shit.

He spun around quickly. “Marinette! My lady! My princess! The love and light of my life whatever are you doing here?”

Ladybug gave him a flat stare and held up a hand. “Save it. Are you trying to get pneumonia?”

Adrien glanced around nervously, his cat ears flattening against his head. “Um… Welllll… The truth is…” he gave up trying to come up with an excuse and deflated with a sigh. “How did you find me?”

Bending down next to him, she held up her yo-yo with his location blinking on the map. “The Ladyblog stated a Chat Noir sighting tonight, so I decided to see if you were transformed or not and low and behold.”

“Dammit, Alya,” he grumbled with a growl.

Ladybug sat next to him, wrapping a blanket around both of them. “Why are you out here?”

“Why do you think?”

“Your dad again?”

“Yeah…” he sighed as he curled into her neck.

His lady eyed him. “Don’t get cozy, I’m not about to let you stay out in this weather.”

Adrien let out a groan. “I figured.”

“Even if your dad did something, why didn’t you come to my house? Why come out here in the cold?” she asked, her brow furrowing in concern behind the mask.

He gave a shrug. “I didn’t want to bother you.”

Ladybug shook her head and cupped his cheek so that he could look at her. “You’re not a bother, kitty.”

Adrien smiled. “Thanks, but honestly, I’m fine--” he was cut off by a coughing spell that sent Marinette reeling away from him.

She put her hands on her hips. “You were saying?”

“Maybe, I’m still a little sick.”

Helping him to a stand, Ladybug wrapped her arm around his waist. “We’re going to my house, you dumb cat.”

o~o~o~o

Marinette tucked him in on her chaise. Sitting down beside him, she placed a hand on his forehead. She sighed. “Your fever is going back up. Why are you like this? Why do you do things to yourself?”

Giving a congested chuckle, Adrien replied in a nasally tone. “So, that my beautiful princess will nurse me back to health?”

She scoffed and crossed her arms. “More like save your ass with your dad. I told him that I found you wandering around in a fever daze and brought you back to my house and that you were asleep. You’re lucky my parents can tell your dad is a strict guy or else they wouldn’t feel comfortable lying about all your shenanigans.”

Adrien gave a pout. “Can’t you just adopt me?”

“I can’t marry you if we adopt you,” she replied quickly. Both processed her words and twinges of red flashed across both of their faces.

Just in that moment, Sabine and Tom popped their heads in the trap door. Her father held a steaming bowl of soup in his hands. The Dupain-Chengs really did spoil him far too much. The couple made their ways into Marinette’s room.

Sabine pressed a hand to her cheek. “Oh, no. Marinette, honey, you look a little flushed. Did you catch Adrien’s cold? Maybe, we should separate you two.”

Frantically, Marinette flew off the chaise. “No, no! It wasn’t that. Just… it’s nothing. I’m not sick. Promise.”

Her mother eyed her suspiciously, before a knowing glint sprung in her eyes. “Ah, I see. Well, could you help your father sit Adrien up? I’m going to take his temperature again.”

She nodded. “Yes, Maman!”

Tom and Marinette adjusted the pillows as Tom used his strength to lift the poor boy. While doing so, Sabine popped another thermometer in his mouth.

“Now, Adrien, we know that things with your dad aren’t great, but you can’t just sneak off in cold weather while you’re sick like this,” Tom lectured. “But, I’m glad that we can help you get better. We will have to send you back to your father once your fever breaks again, okay?”

Sabine took the thermometer out of his mouth as he gave a nod. “I understand, Mister D—er—Tom. It’s just… my house is kind of lonely. This is a much better house when it comes to treatment,” he said with a small chuckle.

Tom leaned over and ruffled his hair lightly. “I’m glad you think so, son. You’re welcome here whenever you want, you know that.”

“Yes sir, I know.”

Sabine examined the thermometer before speaking, “Well, your fever isn’t too high. You’re actually going down a little. Eat some soup and get some rest, hopefully your father won’t get too angry if we send you home a little better.”

Adrien grinned as Marinette placed the soup in his lap. “Thanks, you all are the best.”

His girlfriend gave a smile and kissed his forehead. “Anything for you.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have some family fluff. You're welcome.


	24. Wrong Number

Marinette had been thinking about this for a while. It was a topic she had been avoiding, mostly because she knows her kitty partner so well. He is very easily tempted.

“So, Chat, I’ve been thinking…” Ladybug began as the pair sat on the Eiffel Tower. Turning to him, she continued, “It might be a good idea to give each other our phone numbers.” Seeing the way his eyes lit up, Ladybug poked him in the chest. “Hang on there, kitty. Don’t get too excited. This is for emergencies only!”

He groaned and squinted at her. “Really? Can’t we be friends outside of the masks? Just talking to each other or texting each other isn’t going to be the end of the world, my lady.”

Well, he did have a point there. Heaving a sigh, Ladybug gave a nod. “Fine. We can talk more than just for emergencies, but _please_ , don’t blow my phone up all of the time. My best friend will get suspicious.”

Holding a hand over his heart and the other with a two fingered salute, Chat promised. “Cat’s honor, my lady.”

She hummed. “That’s not totally reassuring, but I guess it’ll have to do,” she snorted while hanging him the paper with her number on it.

Carefully, he placed the paper in his suit pocket. “I will treasure it.”

With a roll of her eyes, Ladybug shook her head. “You’re so weird.”

o~o~o~o

Was she surprised to hear her cell phone ringing as soon as she got home? No. She knew Chat would try to call her immediately after she got home. Most likely, he was testing to see if she gave him a real number or not. They did tend to prank each other on occasion, so it wouldn’t be out of character for her to give him the number to a restaurant or something.

However… Was she surprised to see that instead of an unknown number, her caller-ID said “Adrien”? Yes. That shook her too her core. What could Adrien possibly be calling her for at this time of night? And how did he get her number? She deleted the message and the call he had received from her. Had he finally figured out that she was she one who stole his phone months ago?

Settling her nerves, she decided to answer. If he was calling her to confront her about the incident, she supposed it would be time to face the music. “Hello?”

_“So, it really is your number! How kind of you, my lady.”_

His voice. That was definitely Adrien’s voice… but why did it sound like Chat Noir too? Her brain short circuited. Did Adrien just call her his lady? No. Nonononono!! This was _not_ happening!

“Ch-Chat Noir?” she asked slowly.

She heard him laugh on the other end of the line. “ _Well, yes. Were you expecting someone else?”_

Keeping him in the dark about this seemed like a bad idea. It would only be fair to tell him that she knew who he was. With a sigh, she gathered her wits. “Considering my caller-ID said Adrien, I was actually expecting someone else.”

_“Oh.”_

Oh? Oh!? Marinette’s world had literally just been tilted on its axis and all her partner had to say was “oh”? Really!? God, this was so awkward. She sucked in a breath. “Yeah…”

_“So… you know me then?”_

“I do.”

_“I’m guessing that I know you?”_

“Yup, you do.”

_“Are you going to tell me who you are?”_

Marinette gave a hum and tapped her chin. “Nah. I’ll let you figure it out.”

_“What!? My lady, that is so unfair!”_

“Chat, I’ll give you a hint. We’re actually pretty good friends, and I sit near you in class. That’s all you’re getting, okay?”

_“…You’re not Chloe, right?”_

“Do I _sound_ like Chloe?”

_“Not really.”_

“Okay, well. I’ll see you at school tomorrow, Adrien!”

_“You. Are. The. WORST.”_

o~o~o~o

Marinette should have known this game wouldn’t go on for too long. She really didn’t give that silly kitty enough credit. When she saw Adrien holding his phone up to Alya, she knew she was done for. Walking up the steps, the rest of her friends were gathered around the bench. Nino and Alya sat (almost on top of each other) and Adrien stood in front of them.

When Alya noticed her, she gave a cheeky wave in Marinette’s direction. Adrien stiffened and didn’t move. He knew she was here. He knew it was her. Marinette almost felt queasy from all of this. She slowed her strides as Adrien turned slowly to look at her.

Was she surprised when Adrien bolted towards her? Yes. Was she surprised when he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face into her shoulder? Definitely, yes. 

“It’s you,” he sighed, squeezing her tighter as he did so. “It’s really you.”

Losing her tense posture, Marinette smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck. “It’s me, chaton.”

Adrien sniffled a little, shocking her a little. Pulling back, he wiped his eyes. “Sorry. I don’t mean to be all…” he gestured to himself.

She giggled and shook her head. “It’s fine, Adrien. Really,” she paused for a moment before placing a hand on his shoulder. “I’m glad it’s you.” Marinette felt her own tears wielding, and rubbed her eyes quickly.

Adrien reached out and caught one of her stray tears. “I’m glad it’s you, too.”


	25. Favorite Things

Marinette’s fingers were intertwined with Adrien’s as they approached their two friends who both sat on a bench in the school yard. Alya seemed to quip something before smacking Nino with a magazine, in which, he crumpled and tried to guard himself with his forearms.

“Jeez, Alya, you’re so violent,” Adrien teased as they reached the other couple.

Nino nodded, keeping his arms up in defense. “I know, dude!”

Whacking her boyfriend again, Alya turned to the pair. “He deserves it! He remembers nothing about me!”

Marinette glanced between the two of them, her brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“I _mean_ ,” Alya waggled the rolled up magazine at her. “Nino can’t even pass a stupid couple’s questionnaire. He can’t even remember my favorite color!”

What? That was an easy one. “It’s orange,” Marinette said, implying that it was the simplest question in the world.

Alya jutted a hand out to point at Marinette. “See! It’s not that hard!”

Flailing wildly, Nino shook his head. “It’s Marinette! She remembers everything about everybody!” He snatched the magazine from Alya. “I bet Adrien would do just as bad as I did!”

Alya, obviously miffed at his actions, yanked the magazine back from her boyfriend. “I doubt it! Agreste, you game?”

Adrien flinched a little and looked to his girlfriend. “I can try, but you won’t get that mad at me, right?”

God, he was so cute. Squeezing his hand in reassurance, Marinette shook her head. “I promise I won’t castrate you if you fail.”

He barked out a laugh. “Thanks, Mar, that’s really so kind of you.” Letting go of her hand, he sat on the ground, cross legged in front of Alya. “Let’s do it.”

Alya motioned to her. “C’mon, girl, you have to do it too.”

Letting out a huff, she sat down on the ground next to him. “Okay, fine.”

“Alright.” Straightening her glasses, Alya made a show of getting ready to read. She cleared her throat loudly. “First question: ‘What is your bf/gf’s favorite hobby?’”

 _Being Chat Noir._ Marinette thought immediately. She couldn’t say that out loud though. Marinette chewed her lip, trying to think of something that would suffice for that question.

“Sewing, drawing, designing. All the fashion works,” Adrien replied as he bumped his shoulder to hers.

“Yeah, hmmm, I’m going to go with fencing,” Marinette eyed him, easily reading Adrien’s expression when he quirked a brow and smirked at her. He knew. “You like playing Ultimate Mecha Strike III too. So, I guess a little bit of both of those.”

He nodded. “Acceptable answer. I’ll take it.”

Marinette tried her best not to laugh at Nino’s expression. He seemed to be sweating a little bit as Alya eyed him. Her best friend muttered in front of them, “God, you two aren’t even fair…” she cleared her throat again. “Okay, love-birds, question two: ‘What if your bf/gf’s favorite place to be?’”

“Eiffel Tower,” they both answered in unison. The pair both shot their heads to face each other before letting out a laugh.

“Dudes!” Nino cried.

“You two are making this look so easy. Third question: ‘What is your bf/gf’s favorite color?’” Alya asked a little too loudly with an eye in Nino’s direction. He instantly averted his eyes.

“Pink,” Adrien said quickly.

Marinette hummed as if she was thinking hard about it, but then she just leaned her head onto Adrien’s shoulder. “Blue.”

Nino glared at Adrien, causing Marinette to giggle at his expense. Shaking his head, he sighed. “I really hate you right now, bro.”

With a chuckle, Adrien shrugged the shoulder that she wasn’t laying on. “It’s not my fault.”

“Anyway! Question four,” Alya spouted. “‘What is your bf/gf’s greatest fear?’”

Oh. This one was actually a hard one. She looked to Adrien, waiting for him to answer first. He ruffled a hand in his hair. “Well, this is going to get heavy for a second isn’t it?” He gazed at her with kind eyes. “Your greatest fear is failing other people.” _Failing as Ladybug and being unable to save Paris from Hawkmoth._ She knew.

Licking her lips slightly, Marinette twiddled with her thumbs. “Yours is losing other people.” _Losing me._ She knew Adrien was afraid of losing her after already losing his mother. He told her he was scared to see it happening again.

“Yeah,” he croaked quietly.

“Okay, last question!” Alya squeaked, trying to change the heavy atmosphere. “‘What is your bf/gf’s favorite thing in the world?”

Crap. This one actually stumped her. His favorite thing in the world was probably being Chat Noir too. He loved being a superhero so much.

“Probably being surrounded by people you love, right?” Adrien said with a smile.

She hummed. “Yeah, that’s a good answer.”

“What about you, Marinette? What’s Adrien’s favorite thing in the world?” Nino asked expectantly.

Cocking a brow, she looked to him. “Actually, I don’t really know. You enjoy a lot of simple things in life, so I don’t really know what thing it would be.”

Her boyfriend let out a chuckle before booping her on the nose. “You.”

She blinked. “What?”

“You’re my favorite thing in the world. I don’t want a world without my la—lovely Marinette,” he chimed with a smile and a cough.

 _Nice save, kitty._ She smiled and wrapped her arm around him. “You’re the sweetest.”

“Bro, you make me look like a terrible boyfriend.”

Alya swatted Nino with the magazine again. “Because you are!”

Adrien wound an arm around Marinette’s back before kissing her on the head. “I love you,” he whispered.

Feeling herself flush, she buried her face into his shoulder with a smile. She was certainly lucky to have the best boyfriend any girl could ask for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no smartass comments for today. Enjoy!


	26. Umbrella

Adrien never thought there would be a day that he actually had a fight with Marinette. They were only human, he supposed, so it was inevitable. But still, the reality that they had both yelled and said equally terrible things to one another at the end of patrol that night was hard to swallow. The rain pouring down outside after their argument only seemed to dampen his mood.

His computer chair was rolled to the window, where he sat and watched the raindrops chase one another down the window. At times he would pick a winner, just to take his mind off the situation. But, as bad luck would have it, he typically picked the losing drop. What a time to be alive…

The glass fogged against his breath. Adrien tried to notice and pay attention to anything, _anything_ , other than his girlfriend, who was extremely mad at him. It was stupid. So, so stupid. He knew how stubborn Marinette could be when she thought she was right, and for some dumb reason, he decided to engage in a battle he should have known he would come out on the losing end of. He knew he was still in the right… but it was best to let Marinette have her moment and realize she was wrong instead of snapping at her.

Stupid. He was so stupid.

As the rain poured faster, Adrien couldn’t stop himself from thinking about her. It was raining like this the day she fell in love with him. Or, at least, that was what she told him. God, he loved her. He wanted nothing more than to race to her house and apologize, but he knew rocking the boat would just end badly for the both of them.

Then, he could see her. He could see the reflection of his lady staring back at him through soaked bangs. Great. Just great. Now, he was imagining her there. What an idiot he was! Glancing down at his lap, Adrien mused a hand through his hair.

“Hey, kid. Are you just going to leave your girly out there in the rain?” his kwami asked, breaking through the silence.

His head shot up. The same image from before stood on the building across from his house. She was standing there, staring at him. A familiar black umbrella protected her from the rain. It wasn’t his imagination. She was really there!

Gasping aloud, Adrien opened his window, exposing him to the spatters of rain. “What are you doing!?” he called to her.

Ladybug gripped the umbrella tightly as the wind threatened to steal it away from her. “I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have yelled at you!”

Rain wetting his hair, he laughed at her in disbelief. “Do we have to do this now?”

“Yes! I’ll never forgive myself if I let this go on any longer!” she shouted back over the sounds of weather.

Quickly, Adrien turned his head to his kwami, desperate for an answer. The cat kwami just gave a shrug. “Just say the words.”

That earned Plagg a grin from his chosen. “Plagg, claws out!”

After being engulfed in green, Adrien sprung out of his window, closing it behind him to save his bedroom from the elements. (Also, in case someone checked the security camera and saw it was open.) He leapt over to the building in which his girlfriend was standing on. When he approached her, she was squeezing the umbrella handle for dear life, shivering in the cold as her hair was soaked. Adrien ducked under the umbrella with her, placing a hand over hers. He brushed a wet strand behind her ear, smiling as he did. “I can’t believe you kept this.”

“You gave it to me the day I fell in love with you. I’d never part with it for as long as I live,” she replied with a grin.

He couldn’t help the beam that took over his face. “My lady, you’re going to get sick out here.”

“More the reason for me to say this quickly,” Ladybug said as she gazed down at their locked hands. She glanced up at him through hooded lashes. “I’m so, so, so sorry. I know that won’t make up for the things I said to you, but I really am sorry.”

Adrien couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yes, I know. It’s just how you are, Marinette. I know how your temper can be. I shouldn’t have been surprised to be at the receiving end of it for once.”

She shook her head. “You can’t just accept that I’m going to bitch at you sometimes. That’s not even fair to you.”

“But I know you. I know that this is part of you. And I wouldn’t change anything about you for the world, Mar. I love you for you. Flaws and all,” he argued, a loving gaze taking over his features.

With a sigh, Marinette shook her head. “I don’t deserve you.”

Adrien smiled, removing her hand from the umbrella and closing it quickly. “You absolutely do.” Grabbing her waist, he yanked her towards him and pressed his lips to hers. Maybe kissing in the rain was more overrated than he thought, but it didn’t change the fact that it was one of the best kisses he had ever had in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one got short. Oops. It's fine.


	27. Profound Confession

He simply couldn’t take it anymore. Adrien had done his best to show Marinette that he cared about her. They had found out each other’s identities months ago, and he’s been doing everything he could to make his lady feel special. Why wouldn’t she just believe him? Now, she was actively avoiding him, and he felt worse than ever before. Finally, he decided that he would just confront her on the issue, that is, if she would show.

It was late, so there wouldn’t really be anyone around if he asked her to meet him somewhere.

_Adrien: Will you meet me at our statue in 20 minutes? We really need to talk._

He waited. And waited. Then three small dots appeared as she wrote him back.

**_Marinette: Yeah okay I’ll be there._ **

Sighing in relief, he called Plagg to transform him. As Chat Noir, he dashed out of his bedroom window and sprinted across the rooftops. Anxious, but ready to take care of this issue. If she didn’t like him back, that was fine, but he just needed the truth.

However, he was shocked to see her already there when he arrived. Sitting under the model of him, her feet dangled off the side. She looked up nervously as he arrived. Adrien took a seat on the opposite end, staring at Ladybug, but consciously thinking about how it was Marinette under that mask. He’d known for so long now, but it still didn’t feel real. Such an amazing girl to be Ladybug. He wouldn’t want her to be anyone else.

Finally, she spoke. “What did you want to meet here for?”

Gulping, he looked away from her, trying to find the right words. “I know that… I know that you’ve basically figured out that I’m crushing on you.”

“Yeah,” she croaked wearily.

“But… if you don’t feel the same way, Marinette, just tell me. It’s okay,” he glanced down at his feet. “This is more than just a crush for me. I _love_ you. I’ve been in love with you since I first met you. You’re so admirable… and just— _amazing._ But I don’t want to make you uncomfortable in anyway. The nicknames, the flirting, the gifts—I’ll stop it all. Just tell me what’s going on? Because I don’t understand and it feels like—it feels like you _hate_ me.” He admitted, voice thick.

She gasped at that. “I could _never_ hate you, Adrien. It’s just—this whole reveal. The way things happened. It’s just been hard to deal with. It’s been hard for me to process the fact that Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir. I know that sounds lame, but that’s just the truth.”

Running a nervous hand through his hair, Adrien felt himself literally droop with sadness. “Were you upset that it was me?”

“Upset wasn’t really the word for it. Shocked is more accurate. I had this whole image of who Adrien Agreste was built up in my mind, and it was so _wrong._ I even went to Nino about it and asked if you joked around and stuff and when he said ‘yes’ I was so… disappointed in _myself_ ,” Marinette sighed, looking downcast.

Adrien tilted his head. “But, why? Did you think I was a rich snob? I know we got off to a bad start, Marinette, but I’m not—“

“No,” she interrupted. “I never thought you were a rich snob. Quiet? Not a flirt? Not a goofball? Those were things I never put with Adrien Agreste.”

Leaning towards her, he furrowed his brow under the mask. “But why does that upset you so much? We weren’t that close until after the reveal—well, until lately. You didn’t know Adrien, so what?”

Those bluebell eyes gazed up at him, sorrow filling them to the brim. “Because I had a major crush on you.”

He reared back, blinking in surprise. “Oh.” Was all he could manage to get out. That was a shock. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the most amazing girl in the world, having a crush on boring, model Adrien Agreste?

“Yeah…” she mumbled playing with the string of her yoyo as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

“Because I was a model? Like an admirer thing?”

She snorted. “Not at all.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Adrien groaned. “I’m so confused right now.”

“I was madly in love with you, okay!?” Marinette cried, throwing her hands in the air. She let out a shout that probably woke half of Paris. “I loved the image that I had of Adrien. Ever since you gave me that stupid umbrella—“

“That long?”

“—I thought you were the greatest human being on this godforsaken planet! I desperately made you gifts, tried to get your attention all the time! But I’m such a bumbling idiot—“

“You’re not an idiot, Mari.”

“—that I couldn’t even make a sentence in front of you! And now, I know who you are! I’ve been rejecting the _real_ you for some stupid made up prince character I had. I feel so stupid! And _guilty_. I’m so sorry. I’m so, so _sorry,_ Adrien.” That was it. The dam broke. Tears cascaded over her mask and down her cheeks.

Quickly, he scooted down the statue, reaching up and wiping away her tears. “Hey, hey. Don’t cry, my lady.”

Sniffling, Marinette reached up to wipe away some tears herself with the heel of her hand. “Don’t call me that. I don’t deserve to be called your lady. I don’t deserve you at all.”

His heart clenched. Was that really what she thought? She was pushing him away because she thought that he deserved better than her? An ache filled his chest as he cupped her cheeks. Bending over, he pressed his forehead to hers. “Stop that. There is no ‘real me’ that you didn’t see, Marinette. I just don’t act goofy as Adrien at school because I can’t. I have to behave and be a statue for my father. Just because you didn’t see that, doesn’t mean the person you fell in love with doesn’t exist. When you were—talking,” _Rambling,_ he thought to himself. He leaned away from her to see her face. “you said that you _were_ in love with Adrien. Does that mean—does that mean now that you know, you don’t love me anymore?”

She gave him a watery smile and shook her head. “Of course, I love you, you stupid cat.”

Grinning, he leaned back in. “Then that’s enough for me.” Pressing his lips to hers, he felt her flinch slightly before relaxing against him. When her arms wound around his neck, Adrien never wanted the moment to end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you order extra cheese today? Because, here you go.


	28. I got this for you, but...

“Adrien, she’s going to hate it.”

His heart dropped into his stomach. “What?”

Alya pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. “It’s your first Valentine’s together, and you don’t even know that Marinette isn’t a Ladybug fan?”

Gaping at her, he shook his head. “Who _isn’t_ a Ladybug fan!?” Why would Marinette not want a present that was designed literally for _her_ alter ego? What was Alya getting at!?

Alya let out a grumble. “Oh, my God, Agreste. Marinette adores Chat Noir, not Ladybug. She’s a Chat Noir fan. She appreciates Ladybug, but the way she talks about Chat Noir is like a true, obsessed fan.” She began counting on her fingers as she listed off evidence to him. “She always defends Chat Noir when anyone says he’s less than, she has so many green eyed black cat plushies, and has designed so many Chat Noir inspired outfits, I can’t even tell you how many. How have you _not_ noticed?”

 _Because I_ am _Chat Noir._ He thought idly. He guessed that made sense though. If Marinette gave him something with a Ladybug pattern he’d probably be much more excited than something that was Chat Noir themed.

Eyeing the pendant in his hand, Adrien was at a loss. “But I’m taking her out in like an hour. I don’t have time to go exchange it.”

Alya shrugged and patted his arm. “Well, I suggest you figure something out. Unless you want to get Mariette’s pretend surprised face.”

“She has a _pretend_ surprised face? How will I know the difference?”

Sighing, she rolled her eyes. “It’s over exaggerated and her voice goes up like four octaves, it’s blatantly obvious.”

Adrien felt himself deflate. “Okay. I’ll figure something out.”

His girlfriend’s best friend left him standing in the schoolyard, baffled and at a loss. His kwami popped out of his white shirt. “Hey, kid, she’s not really going to hate it, you know that right?”

Cocking a brow, he gazed at him confused. “What do you mean?”

Plagg sighed as if he were the most oblivious moron on the planet. (Which he was, but he wouldn’t admit that to his kwami ever.) “Marinette is going to love whatever you give her. She’s just like that.”

“You say that, Plagg,” Adrien glanced away uneasily. “But Alya knows her better than me.”

“Does Alya know that Marinette is Ladybug?” Plagg asked flatly.

His eyes widened. “What? No—“

“Then who really knows her better?”

Huh. He didn’t really know anymore. Adrien just really needed time to think.

o~o~o~o

 

Just kidding. He showed up at Marinette’s thirty minutes before he was supposed to and stood on her balcony as Chat Noir rather than showing up at her front door chivalrously as Adrien. What was wrong with him?

Peaking out of her trap door, Marinette saw him. She tilted her head in confusion before speaking. “Adrien? What are you doing? You’re not supposed to be here yet. I’m not ready.”

“I’m sorry!” he blurted.

Marinette blinked in surprise. “What?”

Adrien held up the chain that had a sparkly Ladybug pendant attached to it. “I got you this, but Alya told me that you would hate it. And now that I think about it, it’s really stupid to give you something Ladybug related because that’s basically giving you a poster sign for people to figured out that you’re Ladybug. I just really wanted to get you something pretty and nice, and when I saw it I immediately thought of you, but now I think it’s really stupid and—“

“Adrien. Stop. Please, breathe.”

Her voice stalled him instantly. “S-Sorry.”

Pushing herself onto the terrace, she reached over to him and took the necklace. “Adrien, it’s beautiful. You really thought of me?”

“Y-Yeah. Not just because it’s a Ladybug, but because I thought it was really beautiful… like you.”

Adrien felt his heart swell at the soft gaze in her eyes. She smiled at the necklace wrapped around her fingers. “That’s the sweetest thing, Adrien, thank you.” Marinette reached into her pocket and fished out a keychain that also had a Ladybug hanging off of it. “I got this for you because I know how much of a Ladybug fan you are,” she teased with a wink. “Now, we can match.”

Sighing in relief, he smiled. “Yeah… we can.”

Marinette handed the necklace back to him. “Now, why don’t you detransform, go downstairs, and give this to me in front of my parents so they can ‘ooo’ and ‘awe’ while you clip it around my neck, okay?”

Nodding dumbly, he agreed. “Yeah.”

“You okay?”

Adrien smiled. “I’m really glad you like it.”

“I would love anything you gave me, chaton.”

Cupping her cheek, he leaned in and pressed a small, chaste kiss to her lips. “You’re the best, my lady.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alya is not a bitch, just a hard best friend to please. We wouldn't have her any other way.
> 
> Edit: Ayeee, let me clarify why Alya is so pissed here. She's irritated because of the fact that she thinks Adrien just copped out and got Marinette a generic Ladybug gift rather than taking time to notice that Marinette is more of a Chat Noir fan. Of course, Adrien doesn't know that because Marinette doesn't ooh and awe over his superhero persona in front of him like she does with Alya (because that's just embarrassing, man.) It's just Alya being protective of Marinette's feelings because she doesn't want Mari to be disappointed. And of course, though we love her, Alya jumps to conclusions easily. So, there's my explanation. Yes, she is very salty.


	29. I Do

 

“I thought I saw a little bug racing across the rooftops this evening.”

Marinette looked up to see Chat Noir—her soon-to-be husband—standing over her on the roof of Le Grand Paris. Rolling her eyes, she smiled at him. “It’s bad luck to see the bride the night before the wedding, you know,” she teased.

He gave her a halfhearted shrug. “Yeah, well, I don’t see Marinette Dupain-Cheng anywhere, do you? I only see Ladybug.”

Snorting, she shook her head. “Same difference.”

Taking a seat next to her, he took her hand in his, intertwining their fingers as it had become second nature to them to do so. He rubbed small circles on the back of her palm with his thumb. “Are you nervous for tomorrow?”

Marinette hummed at the question. “Kind of, but not really. I’m more worried about tripping and falling down the aisle.”

Barking out a laugh, Adrien squeezed her hand. “You’re walking down the aisle barefoot for a reason, Bugaboo,” he chimed with a tap to her nose.

“I’m sure my papa will catch me too.”

He nodded in agreement. “Yeah, pretty sure Tom could just carry you down the aisle.”

“You should care me down the aisle at the end,” Marinette said with a laugh.

Smirking, he pointed a daring finger at her. “Don’t tempt me. You know I’ll do it.”

“Please, don’t.”

“Yeah, my father would probably kill me for it.”

“I can see it now,” Marinette began, in an exasperated tone. Releasing her hand from his, she threw them into the air to mime the large headliner. “‘Model Adrien Agreste carries new wife down the aisle: Couple Goals at its finest.’”

Nudging her lightly with his shoulder, he smiled. “Har. Har. That’s a terrible headline. Leave the journalism to Alya.”

“This is why I make clothes, chaton.”

“Yeah, my father didn’t hire you for your ability to make fake news spreads.”

Poking his cheek, she rolled her eyes. “Right, just like he didn’t hire me because I’m his soon-to-be daughter in law.”

Adrien grinned. “Hey, give my pops some credit. He really did hire you because you were talented, not just because we were dating at the time.”

“I’ll believe it in my afterlife.”

Grabbing her hand, he kissed the back of her palm. “I’m glad I get to spend every moment with you until then.”

Marinette scrunched her nose. “How dare you make a funny comeback into a romantic gesture? Why are you like this?”

“Awww, Bug, you know you wouldn’t want me any other way.”

Chuckling lightly, she nodded. “That’s true.”

“I’m just excited because after tomorrow I get to call you my wife—also tomorrow night should be a spectacle,” he smarmed with a waggle of his eyebrows.

She groaned flattened her palm against his face to push him away. “Never mind. I take it back. Time to disengage the engagement.”

“Awww,” Adrien whined while jutting out his bottom lip. “Mariberry, don’t do this to meee. I can’t be left at the altar,” he pouted.

“Okay, one:” she held up a finger, “that ‘Mariberry’ nickname has got to go, and two:” she held up a second finger, “I will leave your ass at that altar if you are not crying when I come out of those doors tomorrow. You better be in tears, Mister, or I’m turning around and going back again until you are.”

Placing a hand on his chest, Adrien held up two fingers in salute. “Cat’s honor, my bride. I will cry a waterfall of tears upon seeing your beauty.”

“You’re such a cheesehead.”

“No, that’s Plagg.”

Marinette cracked a laugh. “Okay, touché.”

“Hey!”

The pair whipped around to see Alya standing there from across the pool. Crossing her arms, she cocked her hip at the two. “Pretty sure there’s some soon-to-be newlyweds around here that aren’t supposed to be seeing each other right now.”

Adrien beamed. “Oh? And who’s that? Send my best wishes to the happy couple.”

Shaking her head, Alya narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re such a smartass, Agreste. Get your butts out of here and get to bed.”

They didn’t have to be told by Mama Alya twice.

Needless to say, the next afternoon when the double doors opened, and Marinette stood clad in her lacy, white wedding dress, Adrien needed to take Nino up on the handkerchief he offered.

Adrien felt the tears roll down his cheeks, all the way up to the words “I do.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I'm behind now. I lost internet yesterday cause Harvey is bringing some rain through, but I got it back tonight, so hopefully it'll stay on.


	30. Unmasked

Marinette and Alya sat together on a schoolyard bench as the former doodled in her sketch pad while her best friend watched over her shoulder.

Adrien and Nino strode towards the two girls, the blond waving as they approached. “Hey, Marinette. Hey Alya,” he chimed as politely as ever. Marinette immediately felt herself tense and let out a small wave as an anxious smile plastered itself on her face.

Nino pranced over to his girlfriend and pecked her on the head. “Hey, babe.”  

“Hey, what brings you two around here?” Alya teased.

Adrien slid onto the bench next to Marinette, and she felt herself nearly combust. He was sitting next to her. Right next to her. Their legs were almost touching. They were breathing the same air. Oh, my God! She quickly looked down, a blush rousing on her face as she tried to go back to sketching, trying her best to ignore the fact that Adrien was following her movements.

As Nino sat down next to Alya, he gestured over to his friend. “Well, actually, Adrien wanted to come ask you guys something.”

Marinette felt him jolt beside her, he seemed to be yanked out of whatever trance watching her draw had put him in. He smiled. “Oh, yeah. I wanted to know if you guys were going to the Ladybug and Chat Noir ball at Le Grand Paris tonight.”

Alya hummed hesitantly. “We aren’t exactly sure. Marinette had some outfits started for us, but Chloe kind of implied that we weren’t invited.”

Nino cocked a brow. “How can you not be invited to a public event?”

“Because Chloe hates our guts,” Marinette mumbled.

Adrien shook his head. “That’s not fair. This isn’t Chloe’s party. It’s being put on by the mayor in celebration of Chat Noir and Ladybug,” he began to push himself off the bench. “I’ll go talk to her.”

Marinette grabbed his arm, and he spun his head back to face her. Freezing, she realized her impulsive action and quickly released him. “I-It’s okay, Adrien. You really don’t have to.”

His shoulders slumped, brow furrowing. “But it’s really not, Marinette. I was looking forward to spending the evening with you guys. That’s why I hoped you were going.”

Placing a hand on her heart, Alya cooed. “Aw, Adrien, I didn’t realize you thought so highly of mine and Marinette’s company,” she teased with a wink at Marinette.

“Of course!” He insisted. “Ever since you and Nino have started dating, I’ve gotten to spend so much time with the two of you, especially you, Marinette,” he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “You and I make great third and fourth wheels together.”

Trying her best not to tense, Marinette forced herself to breathe. _He’s touching me!_ She spoke after a moment of gathering her wits. “Y-Yeah, we are, aren’t we?” she joked with a nervous chuckle.

Adrien laughed before squeezing her shoulder and releasing her. Marinette almost whined at the loss. _No, please. Keep your arm around me!_

Nino gave a knowing chuckle before nudging Alya. “I think you two should come anyway, no matter what Chloe says. Without you two the night would be uncool, am I right? I mean, the owner of the Ladyblog not at the Ladybug and Chat Noir ball? Crazy!”

“That’s criminal,” Adrien added. He turned to Marinette with a grin. “I agree. You two should come anyway. You can just hang with me; I’ll make sure Chloe won’t bother either of you.”

“How noble of you, Monsieur Agreste,” Alya chimed with a grin.

“It’s nothing! I just want to spend an evening with my best friends!” he beamed. “So, what are the outfits you were working on, Marinette? I’m sure you’d make a great Ladybug. You even have a similar hair color to hers.”

She froze, hunching over her drawing with wide eyes, before playing it off with a laugh that was far too loud for normal social standards. _You have no idea, Adrien._

“Me? Ladybug? No! I don’t even compare!” Trying to cover the uneasiness in her voice was proving to be difficult.

He scoffed. “Don’t sell yourself short. You’re a lot like Lady…bug…” Adrien’s voice trailed off a second as he stared at her, the gears seemed to be grinding in his head. Why was he looking at her like that?

Time to change the subject. She dodged his compliment by adverting their conversation back to the dresses. “Me? Ladybug? Nah. Anyway, Alya actually has the Ladybug dress. My dress is Chat Noir themed.”

Dragging him out of whatever thoughts he was in, Adrien seemed to light up at her words. “Really? I figured most people would do something Ladybug themed. She is the more popular of the two.”

Marinette couldn’t help the small giggle she let out. “I don’t think so. Chat Noir is just as much of a hero as Ladybug. They’re partners, you know. If you take Ladybug on, you take Chat Noir on too. I admire that about them.”

There it was. He was looking at her funny again. _What_ was that? She couldn’t pinpoint what emotion he was feeling, and why he was aiming such a serious look her way. It almost seemed like he was in the middle of having an epiphany of some sort.

“Yeah, girl, Chat Noir and Ladybug are both hella cool. I do have to say that I’m more of a Ladybug fan, but that’s just because she’s spoiled me with so much attention for the Ladyblog.”

Marinette smiled. “I’m sure if you asked Chat Noir he’d be willing to participate. He liked to show off a lot—f-from what I’ve gathered, you know.”

“Yeah…” Adrien drawled. “I’m sure he would.”

Sensing an awkward atmosphere starting to gather, Marinette popped up from her seat on the bench. “Anyway, if we’re going to be going to the ball now, I’m going to have to get home and finish up some touches on the dresses. I’ll see you guys tonight,” she called as she started to run off.

o~o~o~o

 

“That was so weird, Tikki. I can’t figure out why Adrien kept looking at me like that,” Marinette mused as she stuck some pins in her dress.

Her kwami flittered from the top of the dress. “I don’t know, Marinette. Maybe, he was seeing how beautiful you are up close,” she giggled.

“Har, har. As if. Adrien only sees me as a best friend. He said so today.”

Humming, her kwami considered this. “Sure, but maybe that’s just because he doesn’t want to make things awkward between the two of you. He could like you too for all you know. Remember the poem? That was definitely meant for you.”

As she sewed another paw print onto the black fabric, she scrunched her nose at the thought. “Yeah, but Adrien never actually gave it to me.”

“Even famous model boys get nervous, Marinette.”

Her chosen giggled in response. “Okay, maybe, he chickened out, but I really doubt it.”

“Sureee~” Tikki teased, causing Marinette to glare teasingly at her kwami.

 

o~o~o~o

Marinette walked into the hotel, arm interlocked with Alya’s. Their dresses shared a similar Fifties’ theme, both frilled out at the bottom. The pair both wore their respected hero’s mask to mask the ensemble. Alya had her hair in two pigtails, while Marinette’s was down and curled with a green ribbon tied in the back. The girls joked that they had basically switched hair styles for the evening. Marinette’s outfit was completed by the tiny choker with a bell she had sewn onto it.

Alya turned to her with a smile. “Nino said that he and Adrien are already here. He told me to go wait for them at the drinks after we got here.”

Allowing her friend to drag her, Marinette went with the flow. “Alright.”

Not even a moment after they arrived, the girls saw Chloe was eyeing them. Well, she knew they were here now. It was up to fate how long it’d take her to cause a scene. Marinette was so distracted by her staring contest with her arch enemy that she didn’t even notice the boys approach until there was a hand plopping down on her shoulder.

“Marinette! You came!”

She squeaked and whirled around to see Adrien smiling brightly at her. He looked adorable in a Ladybug vest and mask. So, so cute! But, suddenly, as soon as their eyes met, he froze. A blush crept up his cheeks as he gaped slightly at her. Blinking, it seemed as if something had clicked in his mind. “You’re…”

“You’re not supposed to be here, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Chloe spat as she approached.

Snapping into her defense mode, Marinette lost focus on her crush, and instead slammed her fists to her hips. “You can’t tell me I’m not allowed to come to a public event, Chloe.”

Chloe let out a harsh laugh. “As if. This is my father’s hotel. I can do whatever I want. Now, I suggest you leave or else I’ll have the guards carry you out.”

As Marinette opened her mouth to argue, Adrien stepped in front of her and blocked her view. “Actually, Chlo, I’m the one who asked Marinette to come here tonight. She and Alya had planned on not attending, but I begged her to. If there’s anyone you should be mad at, then it’s me.”

Chloe stepped back, a bit stunned. “Why? Why would you want to hang out with someone like her?”

Adrien glanced back at her sympathetically, before taking her hand into his. Marinette felt her face flush. _OhmygodohmygodOHMYGOD!!_

“Because I like Marinette—a lot, and I really wanted to spend tonight with her. So, if you don’t mind. We’re going to go hang out for a bit,” Adrien bowed and gestured towards the elevator. “May we?”

Heart pound and head spinning, Marinette gave a tiny nod. She glanced back at Alya, who motioned for her to go on and shoo with a grin. Nino simply beamed as he wrapped an arm around Alya’s shoulder, looking on them with pride. The two gave each other a knowing glance as Marinette turned towards the elevator. Adrien placed a hand on her back protectively as they walked.

It was a quiet ride up the elevator as Marinette fiddled with the Chat Noir ring she had made on her hand. Her shoes must have seemed like the most interesting things in the universe since she kept staring at them. Not knowing what to say. Not knowing what to do. It made her so nervous.

When they reached the roof, they walked over towards the railing of the balcony. Both leaned forward on it, as if it were the most natural thing for both of them. Not having the courage to look at him, she gazed over the city lights as she spoke. “You didn’t have to do that you know.”

From the corner of her eye, she saw him look at her. “What do you mean?”

“Telling Chloe you liked me. Holding my hand. You didn’t have to do all of that to get her to leave me alone.”

“I didn’t say it because I didn’t mean it.”

Instantly, her head popped up to look at him. He was just smiling at her. “Do you… Do you actually like me, Adrien?” She didn’t know where all of this Ladybug confidence was coming from. Maybe it was because she felt safe whenever she was in a mask. As if it was more natural to be brave when identities were hidden. Although, Adrien did know she was Marinette this time.

Letting out a small chuckle, he looked down at the Paris streets. “I do, actually. I really do. But, I have to admit something.”

She cocked her head. “And what’s that?”

“I know you’re Ladybug.”

Marinette stopped breathing. Her eyes blew wide as her mouth fell open. “Y-You can’t tell anyone, Adrien! You can’t! At all! Ever! You could be in so much danger if you—“ He hushed her with a finger to her lips.

Adrien’s lips twitched into a small smile as he took her hand that had her fake Miraculous on it. Running a thumb across it, he gazed at her. “I shouldn’t expect anything less than perfect detail from you.” Holding up his own hand with a silver ring, he spoke gently. “Your ring almost looks like the real thing, doesn’t it?”

Taking in a breath, Marinette sucked her bottom lip between her teeth as she gazed down at the ring. Gliding her fingers across it, she instantly knew. She bit tighter, trying to prevent her lip from wobbling. Eyes watering, she simply threw herself at him, wounding her arms around his neck. “Chat!”

Nuzzling his nose into her hair, he wrapped his arms around her back, squeezing her tightly to him. “My lady, it’s you,” he whispered into her hair like a prayer. “It’s you.”

“It’s me,” she confirmed as she leaned back in his arms. Marinette couldn’t believe it. The two boys she had grown to love are one in the same. Luck had nothing to do with this. Fate was more like it.

Wiping her tears from her cheeks, he laughed. “All this time, it’s been you. How could I be so blind? All I had to do was see you in a different colored mask and it clicked.”

She let out a small snort. “I still didn’t know! But, okay, in my defense, your eyes literally change completely. Your hair too! You can’t blame me!”

Humming, he pretended to contemplate her excuse. He gave a curt shrug before leaning down to her with a smile. “I guess, I can let it slide, just this once,” he teased as he nuzzled her cheek, earning him a giggle from Marinette.

Then, they just grew quiet. Holding each other tightly, the pair just basked in the afterglow of such a revelation. Adrien kept his cheek rested on her head, while hers rested on his chest. He swayed them to the faint music from below. Marinette never wanted to leave this moment. Safe and comfortable in his arms, knowing who he was, that they were actually closer than two people could be. She hadn’t wanted to know who Chat was, but now that she did, she couldn’t be happier.

She felt his voice rumble in his chest as he spoke up. “Hey, Marinette?”

“Yes?”

“I love you. I really, truly love you.”

Marinette couldn’t help the gasp that left her lips as she turned to gaze at him. With a smile, she saw the adoration that filled his eyes to the brim. “I love you too, Adrien. I really do.”

“My lady, can I… Can I kiss you?”

Her smile turned shy as she glanced away for a moment. “Of course…” She started to pull herself up to him when he stopped her.

Rubbing a thumb across her cheek, he shook his head. “Without the masks?”

Marinette let out a laugh. “Sure thing, Kitty.” Adrien grinned in response before unhooking her waist, and pushing the black mask away from her eyes and past her bangs to rest on the top of her head. She reached up and pushed the ladybug themed mask away from his own eyes to the top of his head. “There,” she chimed.

Pulling her back towards him, he leaned in to brush his nose against hers. Slowly, he briefly pressed his lips to hers before retreating quickly. Her kitty was shy. So cute! Gripping him by the vest, she yanked him back down, smashing her lips to his clumsily. So, it was a messy kiss, but she had waited so long for this moment that they deserved every moment of it. They were pressed together, her hands cupping his cheeks as their lips danced together. Every minute of pinning, every emotion led up to this instance.

Marinette didn’t regret a single second of any of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this happened.


	31. I'm Yours, Forever

Chat Noir lay comfortably curled up on a blanket with Ladybug’s limbs intertwined with his own. They lay on a rooftop, watching the stars and the glow of Paris beneath them. Cuddled up together, the couple had been laying in a restful silence for a while, but the quiet had his mind reeling. This is what he wanted for the rest of his life. They were in their final year of school, he was eighteen now, and he felt that it was time to really think about what he wanted. Marinette. Marinette was all he truly wanted.

“Hey, Mari?”

From underneath his chin, he felt his girlfriend look up at him from her place on his chest. “Yes?”

Chat glanced down at her the best he could, but making eye-contact with her at this moment was proving to be awkward physically and mentally the more he thought about the question he was about to ask. “What do you think about marriage?”

Ladybug seemed startled by the question at first, propping herself up on her elbows to look at him. “What do you mean?”

Glancing away from her, a tinge of blush spread across his cheeks. “I mean, do you want to get married someday?”

She seemed to contemplate the question with a hum. “Yeah, I’d like to, why?”

“What about… marrying _me_ , specifically?”

Smirking, Ladybug rested her arms down on his chest, placing her chin on the back of her palms. “Yes, I think I’d like that too. But, why? If this is your ideal proposal, you’re going to have to sweep me off my feet more than that to get me to agree while I’m still seventeen.”

Ah, there it was. The teasing sarcasm he had been expecting, as usual for his lady. Chuckling lightly, Chat shook his head. “No, this isn’t a proposal. How about just a promise?”

She clicked her tongue and swayed her head on his chest to make a show of her debate. “I guess, that can be acceptable. What kind of promise are we making here? Just a promise to get married one day?”

“Nah, more than that,” he sat up, forcing her to sit up next to him. Taking her hand in his, he pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles as he always did, but this time it seemed more intimate than ever. “I want to promise my life to you.”

Blinking, she seemed a bit stunned as she gaped slightly. Ladybug’s cheeks pinked a little, making those adorable freckles on her nose light up under the night sky. “Oh. Adrien—I-I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to, I just want you to know how I feel,” he cupped both of her hands in his own. “I love you, Marinette, more than words can even express. I see you, and it’s like there’s suddenly hope and life in my life that I hadn’t felt since my mom disappeared. I know that this is going to sound cliché, but I’m yours forever, Marinette, if you’ll have me.”

Mouth falling back open, her eyes glazed over with tears. Immediately, panic set in as he tried to back pedal. “T-This isn’t something you have to agree to. We’re still young. Who know what could happen. You might not want to be stuck with me for the rest of your life, and that’s fine, but I just—“

Ladybug grabbed his cheeks, smiling wide before gently hushing him. “Ssh, calm down, kitten. I was just surprised, is all. That was probably the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

The cat ears on his head popped up to attention. “O-Oh!” Eyes lighting back up, he grinned. “That’s a relief. I thought I really just screwed up and moved too fast.”

Giggling, his lady moved in, brushing her lips against his. Their noses touched gently, as she spoke. “You never have to worry about that. I’m yours. Forever and always, silly kitty.”

All self-control was lost at those words. Tangling his clawed gloves into her raven hair, he pulled her into a searing kiss. He poured all of himself into every movement of his mouth against hers. She was his everything.

Adrien loved Marinette.

And he always would.

Forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE'RE DONE! That's a wrap! This is my first time participating in something like this and let me tell you, folks: writing a daily prompt is a hell of a lot harder than I thought it would be. Good lord! But, I survived! I made it! Here we are! Some were better than others. Some were fluffier than others. But dammit, I hope you have to go to the dentist now after this month of sweetest I tried to give you. 
> 
> Also! I will be posting up a bonus continuation for Elation! Hopefully, it will be today or tomorrow. Also, also! if you read my fic Lock It Up, I'm hoping to have it updated tomorrow. And, also, also, also! I'm trying to come up with something cool to write for the 2nd anniversary of Miraculous tomorrow. So, if you liked my writing throughout this month, please stick around and check out my other Miraculous fics! Self-promotion for the win! Woo! 
> 
> I'm so glad you all shared Fluff Month with me, guys! And be sure to go check out the tumblr page to see all the other stuff people wrote and drew!
> 
> Thanks!!! <3


	32. Elation Part 2

When Adrien and Marinette arrived, the party preparations were nearly complete. Gabriel approached the couple with a gentle smile. “Hello, Adrien, I take it you’ve heard the news.”

It was a good conclusion to come to considering that Adrien literally seemed to be dazed on cloud nine ever since she had told him of her pregnancy. Bobbing his head, he grinned. “Yeah. Best birthday gift ever,” he chirped with excitement.

Placing a hand on his son’s shoulder, Gabriel squeezed him tenderly. It was the gentlest he’d seen his father in a while. The last time he looked this kind was their wedding day. “I think you’ll make an excellent father, son.”

Adrien blinked, feeling his heart swell and butterflies float up in his stomach at his father’s gentle words. A smile almost split his face in two. “Thank you, Father,” he replied with a nod.

Feeling his wife wrapped her arms around his, he looked down to see her. Marinette leaned her head onto his shoulder. “I have to agree.”

“Thank you. Thank you, so much,” he cooed to her as he kissed her crown.

Clearing his throat, series Gabriel was back. He motioned for the pair to follow him. “Marinette, your parents are in the back preparing the cake. I’m sure they’d like to see the two of you.”

With a nod, Marinette smiled. “Thank you, Gabriel!” Hearing her call his father by his first name was still really weird. He called her parents by their first names, but not listening to her say “Mr. Agreste” was still new even though they’d been married over a year now.

Adrien led his wife back to the kitchen, fingers intertwined with hers. They were addicted to physical contact with each other, what could he say? When they reached the room in which her parents resided, he first saw Tom (how could you not?) with his baker’s cap on, icing away at a four-tiered cake. Just how many people had his father and Marinette invited to this shindig?

Humming cheerfully, Marinette called to her parents, “Mama, Papa!”

Tom froze in his tendious task and turned to his daughter with a beam. “Hey, darling! Adrien, my boy!” Setting down the icing bag, Tom marched up to them a clapped a hand onto his son in law’s shoulder. “Happy birthday! How was your birthday surprise?”

Grinning, Adrien chuckled. “I was pretty surprised. Excited is more the world I’m in now.”

Sabine approached from the back of the kitchen after hearing Marinette’s call. She enveloped the two of them in a hug, while Tom joined in. Pressing a kiss to each of their cheeks, she kept her hands on their shoulders while she looked between the two of them with a watery smile. “Oh, look at you two. About to start a family of your own. I just can’t believe you’ve both grown up on me. I love you both so much.”

His heart soared at the admission. Sabine had become like a mother to him after he and Marinette started dating so many years ago. She had taken him under her wing and mothered him since he didn’t have one of his own. He looked down at Marinette, who seemed to be tearing up herself. Releasing his arm, she hugged her mother tightly. Tom glanced at him with a fond, knowing expression.

Adrien couldn’t be anymore grateful than he already was that he was a part of their family.

o~o~o~o

Party guests began to swarm in, most of them had been old classmates from school, some were relatives of both Adrien’s and Marinette’s, and there were very few business guests from what he could tell. He was surprised his father didn’t make this more of a formal event, but given that there was going to be a very personal announcement made sometime during the party, his father must have thought otherwise about inviting the press.

Marinette was over the moon, he could tell. She was mingling around and greeting old friends, while he mostly just kept to himself. He was honestly scared to talk to anyone, in fear of blurting out “HEY MARINETTE’S PREGANT.”

When Alya and Nino finally walked in through the doors, he found himself relieved. Thank God, people he could talk to as himself. Marinette still beat him to them though. Damn, she was fast. Where had she even come from?

Slinging her arms around Alya, Marinette squealed in excitement to see her best friend. They had both been so busy with their jobs that the two rarely got to see each other these days. Approaching Nino, he shared a fist bump with his best friend as he grinned.

“Hey, dude,” Nino said as he patted a hand on Adrien’s shoulder. “Happy birthday!”

Smiling, he nodded. “Thanks, Nino. It’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too, bro. You and Marinette keep so busy these days. We hardly get to see the two of you,” he replied.

Alya took that moment to jump into the conversation. “You do! I don’t know how you two can stand working so much,” she awed as she looked between the two of them.

“Well, my father is preparing me to take over the company in the next few years. It’s exhausting,” Adrien groaned.

Nino stared at him flatly. “It’s not even what you want to do, so why?”

Shrugging a shoulder, he clicked his tongue. “Because I’m basically obligated to and would like for Marinette and I to continue to eat and live in our nice house?” _And feed the baby?_ He couldn’t add that part yet.

Alya snorted. “Oh, please. C’mon,” she nudged Marinette. “Why don’t you take over the Gabriel brand? You’re family? You actually _want_ to be in fashion? Adrien over here would rather teach kids. Or,” she dropped her voice, “just keep running around in a cat suit?”

Glowering at her, Marinette rolled her eyes. “One, there are too many people discuss _those_ matters, and two, I think Gabriel would rather Adrien take it over and I just continue to work in the company.”

But actually, Alya had a good point. Why _couldn’t_ Marinette take over Gabriel? “Actually, Marinette, would you want to take it over?”

Cocking a brow, she tilted her head. “Of course, I would. Who wouldn’t want an entire corporation that they’ve idolized their entire life just handed over to them? Why? Are you considering it?”

“I might actually talk to Father about it.”

Alya smirked and cleared her throat. “You’re _welcome_.”

Marinette pushed her. When Alya nudged her back in her side, Adrien almost panicked. Holding his tongue, he sucked in a breath. His wife would definitely _not_ appreciate it if he acted like she was made of glass all of the time. Suddenly, his friends straightened and his wife’s demeanor completely changed. Tilting his head, Adrien was about to question the behavior, but instead a hand touched his shoulder. He spun around to see his father standing behind him.

“Oh, yes, Father?”

Glancing at the stage and then back to him and Marinette, Gabriel cleared his throat. “I believe you have some guests to thank for arriving?”

Nodding, Adrien glanced back at Marinette and bobbed his head to gesture to the stage. His wife agreed quickly and linked her elbow over his. The guests grew quiet as the pair took to the stage. Holding a mic in his hand, Adrien gulped his nervousness down. “Hello, everyone. I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to come out and celebrate my birthday with me.” The crowd gave a small chorus of clapping in approval. Sucking in a breath, he chewed his lip and glanced down at Marinette, who was looking at him expectantly. When she smiled and nodded, he found the courage to continue. He was so excited to tell everyone, but now that he was standing in front of _literally everyone_ he was chickening out a bit.  

“But, this is more than just a celebration of my birthday,” he noticed some odd looks in the crowd, especially from Nino and Alya. He noticed the latter’s eyebrows shoot up, and she started bounced excitedly while her own husband laughed at her antics. “Marinette and I… are expecting a baby.”

The party guests let out a roar of approval. Adrien smiled and laughed, glancing down at Marinette who was also grinning at the reaction. She reached up and kissed him, causing the crowd to erupt more. Alya and Nino stormed the stage, hugging the happy couple and congratulating them.

Alya smirked. “How do you think the public will react to Chat Noir and Ladybug having a baby?” she said so that only the four of them could here.

Realization dawned on him. He had some unfinished business to attend to later, didn’t he?

o~o~o~o

Chat Noir stood at the top of the mayor’s office, Alya’s camera was already on him. A small audience was already forming in the streets below. It was rare that they actually went out as their superhero personas during hours where most of Paris was still away.

Ladybug covered her face with her hands while he wrapped an arm around her shoulder with a grin. “You’re so embarrassing,” she groaned.

“You said I could scream it from the rooftops as Chat Noir.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t actually mean it,” she griped.

Snickering, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. “You know I love you,” he teased.

He turned back to the crowd below. “Hey Paris! I was promised I could scream this from the rooftops, so I’m going to!” he called down.

Chat sucked in a breath before letting out a loud screech.

“I’m going to be a father!!”

The civilians cheered in response as Chat looked back at his mortified wife. Scooping her in his arms, he kissed her again. “I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had every intention on doing this like 2 days ago, but I got sick. Of course, I did. Sorry, I didn't post all the stuff I wanted to, but I'm trying to get it uploaded now, even if it's a few days late.


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